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Child-Life in Italy; 



A STORY 



OF 



SIX YEARS ABROAD. 



% 

% 







B O S T O M-: 

J. E. TILTON AND COMPANY. 
1866. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by 

J. E. TILTON & COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



> 






Stereotyped by C. j. Peters and Son, 
13 Washington Street, Boston. 



Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery. 



To Anna, 



FOR WHOSE ENTERTAINMENT MANY OF THE FOLLOWING PAGES 
WERE ORIGINALLY WRITTEN, 



.To her Young Brothers and Cousins, 
THIS VOLUME 

IS 

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED; 

AND 

TO ALL BETWEEN THE AGES OF FlVE AND FIFTEEN 

WHO MAY BE 

INTERESTED IN ITS CONTENTS. 



To those whose early travels, pleasures, and pursuits 
are here recorded, this surprise — for so Christmas pres- 
ents always are — of their published record will, at this 
interval, come as pleasantly and happily, it is trusted, as 
the recollection of those scenes has been happy and 
pleasant to their former teacher and affectionate friend, 

THE AUTHOR. 
Boston, U.S. A., 1865. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The value and interest of this little work, consist 
in its being a true record of events and incidents 
connected with the earliest days of the children 
of one of our most distinguished and lamented 
artists. 

Residing always abroad, happily and favorably 
situated, with much that was pleasant and instruc- 
tive to remember, we know not why they might 
not be entitled to the pleasure of possessing those 
early reminiscences in such a form, or why a vol- 
ume of a child's travels might not be as useful 
and acceptable to the younger portion of the pub- 
lic as volumes of travels usually are to older per- 
sons. 

Had there been, originally, any intention of pub- 
lishing, much of a more dramatic nature might 
have been collected. But the volume has been 
composed principally of extracts from familiar 
letters written on the spot, in which little inci- 
dents relating to the children were casually 
recorded, with the dates, at the time of their 
occurrence; thus making a running journal of 
events. And, however simple these may be, it is 
hoped and believed that they will afford some 



8 INTRODUCTORY. 

interest and amusement to those for whom the 
work has been prepared. 

From the variety of the reading, — some portions 
being adapted to the youngest reader, or even listen- 
er, and other parts requiring a maturer mind, — the 
author has ventured to include in the dedication 
both little ones and " children of a larger growth." 
She would not have desired to obtrude herself 
in a narrative almost exclusively of children ; 
but being, besides their instructor, the very fre- 
quent companion of their walks "and diversions, 
it would have been impossible, in general, to avoid 
frequently using the first personal pronoun, with- 
out rewriting much, or rendering the style more 
constrained and artificial. 

Liberty, of course, has been taken in changing 
the names of the characters ; and it is but proper 
to state that the work was prepared for publica- 
tion, entirely without their knowledge ; but it is 
believed that it will not be by them less agreeably 
received. 

A companion volume of fairy stories and oth- 
ers, written also, in part, while the writer was 
abroad, will follow this. 

The present volume commences with the return 
of the family to Italy after a visit of more than a 
year in America, the author going with them as 
private teacher to the children. 

We left New York about the middle of July, 
but did not arrive in Rome until three months 
afterwards ; the interval being passed principally 
in France and Germany. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



FIRST YEAR. 

CHAPTER I. — Description of the Villa. — The House. — Our 
Room. — Stories of Home. — Lessons. — Routine of the Day . • . 13 

CHAPTER II. — The Country around Rome. — Mountains and the 
Campagna. — Oxen. — Cows. — Donkeys. — Market-women. — Ruins on 
the Campagna. — Slaves. — Freedmen. — Pincio. — French Soldiers. — 
An Ancient Captain • 19 

CHAPTER III. — Ancient Baths. — Church in the Square. — Anecdote 
of two Children. — St. Peter's. — Its Size. — Ascent to the Dome. — 
View from the Top. — Music at Vespers 27 

CHAPTER IV. — Christmas Festivities. —Peasants from the Moun- 
tains. — Potato Puppets. — Christmas-tree. — Christmas Eve and 
Christmas Day 35 

CHAPTER V. — Twelfth Day and Carnival. — Santissimo Bam- 
bino. — Improvisatori at the Ara Cieli. — Carnival. — The Confetti. — 
Horse-race. — Moccoli. — End of Carnival 41 

CHAPTER VI. — Spring and Summer. — A Poultry-yard. — Nightin- 
gales. — Birds and Lizards. — Festa at the Gesu. -^ A Shower. — 
Cousin Lulu. — Hour in the Villa. — The Baby. -^ Meeting the Pope. 
— Fresh Figs. — The Richmond Monument. —Playing with Clay . . 50 

CHAPTER VII. — Excursions in the Country. — Visit to Albano.— 
Pompeythe Great. — Diana's Looking-glass. — Villa Cesarini. — The 
young Duke. — Visit to the Monks. — The Donkeys ....... .63 

CH APTER VIII. — Autumn. — The Rainy Season. — The Baby. — Roman 
Rabies. — Exhibition at a Girls' School. — A Child Dancing .... 7\ 



10 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



SECOXD YEAR, 

CHAPTER I. — Winter-Time. — Poor Man and Woman. —Old Beppo. 

— Beggars. — Washing of Feet by the Pope. — The Pope serving at 
Table. — The Misereres. — Hospital of the Pilgrims. — Washing and 
Supper for the Pilgrims. — Easter at St. Peter's. — Blessing the Peo- 
ple. — Illumination of St. Peter's 78 

CHAPTER II. — Summer Excursions. — Visit to Tivoli. — Excursion 
to Frescati. — Tusculum and Cicero. — Cato. — Plain of Hannibal. — 
Our Garden. — Snails. — Fourth of July. — Morning Walks. — Sum- 
mer Afternoons 89 

CHAPTER III. — Daily Walks. — The Menagerie. — Lottery Drawing. 

— The Russian Villa. — The Labyrinth. — Villa Torlonia. — Drives on 
the Campagna. — Shepherds and their Flocks. — Borghese Villa.— 
Picnic 99 

THIRD YEJLK. 

CHAPTER I. — Going to the Opera. — Little Anna. —Lessons. — The 
Troubadour. — Easter Morning 107 

CHAPTER II. — Children's Letters. — The Children's Sizes. — The 
Prince's Family. — Children's Party at the Villa. — Route to Switzer- 
land 113 

CHAPTER III. — Journey to Switzerland. — The Sea at Civita 
Vecchia. — Beautiful Villa at Genoa. — Lost Omnibus. — Plains of 
Lombardy. — Turin. — Visit to the Palace 119 

CHAPTER IV. — Journey to Switzerland continued. — St. Ber- 
nard Dogs. — New Hay. -=- Stay at Geneva. — Music at Fribourg. — 
Meeting Friends. — Bears at Berne. — Story of the Bears 120 

CHAPTER V. — Summer in Switzerland. — The Pension. — Sad Ac- 
cident in the Mountains . , 136 

CHAPTER VI. — Excursions in Switzerland. — Giessbach Falls.— 
The Jungfrau. — Pressing Flowers. — Baby's Rides. — Flocks of Goats. 

— Picking Strawberries 139 

CHAPTER VII. — Company at the Pension. — Anecdotes of Josef. 

— A Chamois Goat. — Glaciers and Avalanches. — Walk in the Fields. 

— The Doctor. — Last Visits 147 

CHAPTER VIII. — Leaving Switzerland. — Mount Righi. — De- 
scending the Righi. — A Golden Sunrise. — William Tell 154 

CHAPTER IX. — Zurich and Weisbad. —Embroidery. — Holiday at 
St. Gall. — Games of the Children 159 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 11 



CHAPTER X. — Visit to Munich. — A View of King Lewis. — The 
King's Palace. — Art in Munich.— The English Garden. — Bohemian 
Glass 164 

CHAPTER XI.— Journey to Florence. — Dolls for the Journey.— 
Rhymes on the Way. — The Baby-doll. — The Tyrol. — Route to 
Italy. — Gentleman and his Dog. — Banditti. — Ginevra. — Modena. — 
From Bologna to Florence. — End of the Journey 170 

CHAPTER XII. — Stay in Florence. — Paintings and Sculptures.— 
Edifices and Gardens. — Illuminated Bibles. — Journey Homeward. — 
Arrival Home 183 



FOURTH TEAK. 

CHAPTER I. — Things at Home. — Memie learning English. — Little 
Anna's Daguerrotype. — The Canary Bird. — A Balloon Ascen- 
sion 190 

CHAPTER II. — Winter and Spring. — Frolic with Frisky. — Dog 
dressed up. — Pet Jenny. — Moro. — Children's Parties. — Games at 
Parties 198 

CHAPTER III. — Review of the Winter. — Morning Walks. — The 
French Lady and Baby. — Frisky sent away. — Preparations for a 
Journey 208 

CHAPTER IV.— Journey to Lucca. — Waiting for the Boat. — No 
Berths. —The Leaning Tower. — Ascent of the Tower. — Visit to the 
Grand Duke's Farm 214 

CHAPTER V. — Description of the Baths of Lucca.— Drives and 
Walks. — Illumination at Pisa 221 

CHAPTER VI. — Friends at the Villa. — Picnic Excursion. — De- 
scending the Hill. — A Dialogue 226 

CHAPTER VII. — The Grand Duke's Family. — Donkey Ride. — Me- 
mie in Hot Weather. — Visit to Lucca. — Gifts from the Baby. — 
Memie's English.— A Book lost 233 

CHAPTER VIII. — Last Month at the Baths. — Excursion to Ponte 
Nero. — The Fairy-book. — The Fairies' Dance 242 

CHAPTER IX. — Departure for Florence.- The Venetian Boy.— 
Road to Florence. — Jewellers' Bridge. — Flower-girls. — Procession 
of the Madonna 251 

CHAPTER X. — Stay in Florence. — Anna's Curls. — Acrostic Cha- 
rades. — Puzzles. — Nannine's Verses 257 



12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. — A Nurse for Baby. — Tour by Perugia.— Paintings 
of Perugino and Raphael. — Morning Drive to Assisi. — Old Painters. 

— Falls of Terni.— Arrival Home 269 

fifth: year. 

CHAPTER I. — Christmas Games. — Baby-house.— Nurse going Away. 

— Birthday-tree. — Christmas Rhymes. — Christmas Cake 277 

CHAPTER II. — Nannine's Birthday. — The Cake.— Valentine Party. 

— Valentines. — Carnival • • ....... .286 

CHAPTER III.— Acting of Monkeys and Dogs. — Story of a Little 
Dog 291 

CHAPTER IV. — Scenes in Rome.— Temple of Vesta. — Ponte Rotto. 

— The Coliseum. — Martyrs in the Coliseum.— St. Ignatius. — The 
Capitol. — Busts and Statues. — Villa Doria. — Easter Fireworks . 296 

CHAPTER V.— Visit to Naples. — Pantomime. — Eruption of Vesu- 
vius. — Visit to Vesuvius. — Pompeii. — Excursion to Baiae. — The 
Sybils* Cave. — Macaroni. — The Blue Grotto. — Oranges of Naples. 

— The Monastery. — Virgil. — The Royal Family. — the Passport . 307 

CHAPTER VI. — Summer at Home. — Anecdote of Memie. — Villa 
Medici. — Flower-wreaths. — Summer Lessons and Work. — Portraits. 
— Sea-air for Memie .322 

SIXTH TEiB. 

CHAPTER I. —Birthday Party. — Birthday Cake. — Anna and Tom- 
my. — Paper-dolls 330 

CHAPTER II. — Nannine Riding. — Christmas Evening. —The two 
Lambs. — Story of the Early Christians. — Going to Church . . . .336 

CHAPTER III.— Last Visits. — Via Sacra. — The Forum. — Baths of 
Titus 342 

CHAPTER IV. — Carnival. — Last Drive. — Secession of the Plebe- 
ians 345 

CHAPTER V. — Story of the Old Man. — Departure for America . 349 



APPENDIX. 
Charades 355 



CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



FIRST YEAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLA. 

It was evening when we arrived in Rome ; and on 
awaking in the morning, and looking out of the window, 
we found that we were in a beautiful villa,* which, 
although it was the middle of October, was still look- 
ing as green and fresh as at midsummer. A part of it 
near the house was a pretty flower-garden, where roses 
were still blooming, and dahlias, and other flowers. 
In the centre of the garden was an old mosaic pave- 
ment, with a beautiful fountain in the middle, the water 
dripping prettily over the edges ; and around, on the 
garden-wall, were some great stone lions. Along by 
the house was a row of ancient marble statues, which 

* A villa comprises, in general, the house and grounds of an estate. 
It may be of larger or smaller dimensions. This one was very exten- 
sive; and, besides the flower-garden, it was laid out principally in a 
vineyard and vegetable-gardens. 

13 



14 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

had been dug up from this very ground, where they 
had been buried under the earth for centuries ; for, in 
all parts of Rome, statues have often been found so. 
Some of these had broken noses or broken limbs: still 
they looked fine and handsome, mounted on their tall 
pedestals. 

In the villa, which extended to a great distance, were 
long avenues, affording delightful places in which to 
run, or roll hoop, or play ball ; and along the avenue 
which led out to the street there was a row of orange- 
trees, with bright oranges upon them ; and there were 
smaller paths, and walks bordered by pretty hedges, — 
all these making it a beautiful place for the children to 
stroll and play in every day. 

And inside the house — but what a flight of stairs 
for going up to our parlor! — to our rooms, which were 
mostly on one floor, — eighty-seven solid stone steps ! 
It was a grand old stairway if it was fatiguing to as- 
cend it (but that was only at first ; we soon became 
used to it) ; for this was once a palace, built by a 
pope, and was older than any town in the United 
States. It was about three hundred years old, and 
was built in fine style in those former times. 
\ Our rooms were on one floor, or story ; for such is 
the way most families live in Rome. They seldom 
occupy a whole house. The houses are generally so 
large, and contain so many apartments, they take but 



DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLA. 15 

one suite of them, or one story. We had this house? 
however, mostly to ourselves ; for no one else occupied 
it excepting the porter's family, who lived in the base- 
ment. But, for a few weeks in the spring and autumn, 
the gentleman who owned the house (and who was a 
prince *) came with his family, and took the suite of 
rooms on the first floor. Among these was a large and 
splendid hall with a solid stone floor, and hung all 
around with tall family portraits, where the children 
were allowed, when the prince's family wag not there, 
to go and play on rainy days, when they could not go 
into the garden. 

And our room — Nannine's and mine — was a nice 
cosey place (although a large room), with a warm, 
bright carpet on the stone floor, and the ceiling sweetly 
painted with lovely birds and flowers. There were 
two beautiful little wrought iron bedsteads, two large 
bureaus, a pretty walnut-wood dressing-table, with 
marble slab and mirror, and a large desk-table in the 
centre. Here Nannine had her lessons every day. It 
was the only room in the house, excepting the parlor, 
and the kitchen, of course, where there was a fire* 
place ; for, in that mild climate, one does not need 

* Prince M., distinguished as belonging to one of the oldest families 
in Itaty. His oldest son (by a former wife), then a boy of twelve 
years, was cousin to the late King Charles Albert of Sardinia, father 
of Victor Emanuel. 



16 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

fires all over the house in winter as one does in 
New England. But, in our room, we could have a 
bright wood-fire whenever we wished it; and how 
often, as Nannine sat warming her feet before she 
went to bed, did she ask me to tell her stories of 
"ho7ne" ! Not her home, for she was born in Italy, and 
her sisters were born there ; but my home in Ameri- 
ca, and of what I used to do when I was a child. No 
sooner was the door shut, and we were quiet by our- 
selves, than she would say, "Now tell me about home! 
tell me about Millo's ! " 

Millo's ! the group of trees in the field where a thou- 
sand times we went, my sisters and I, and gathered 
leaves, and called them " people," and seated them all 
round for a dinner (a stone for a table, and leaves again 
for the plates and dishes), and pretended that they 
were eating; and the walnut-grove and grape-vine, 
and the bower at the end of the orchard, where we lay 
on the grass with a book, but watching the sky and 
the birds overhead, and taking in all the sunny enjoy- 
ment, — this was my happy home when a child; and 
Nannine liked to hear all about those things, as chil- 
dren in America like to hear about Italy and other 
foreign places. 

Before going on with our daily pursuits, I will tell 
you a little more of our in-door life, and give a few 
other descriptions ; and then you will see afterwards, 



DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLA. 17 

from the journal which follows, what occurred from 
time to time. 

During those short mornings of the autumn and win- 
ter, it was as much as one could do to get ready for 
breakfast at about eight o'clock. The children, Nan- 
nine, Gianina, and their little cousin Lulu, took break- 
fast with all the family. Little Lulu, with her papa 
and mamma, was with them that winter : but she and 
Gianina were but little more than three years old ; so 
they were too young to have any lessons then. At 
ten, Nannine went with me to our room for her les- 
sons, which she learned extremely well ; for she was 
very fond of books, and liked to learn. At the end of 
a year, when she was between five and six years old, 
she had learned to read English so well, that she began 
Italian also. She already spoke it, so that in one more 
year she had learned to read that too. And then she 
began French ; but, as she knew nothing about it be- 
fore, it took two years to read and speak that well : at 
least, it was two years before she commenced another 
language. 

At half-past one, the little girls had their dinner, 
and the rest of the family, if they wished it, took a 
lunch with them ; and then all went out in one direc- 
tion or another. Sometimes the children would go 
with the others, or with their nurse ; but often they 
preferred to play in the villa instead. 
2 



18 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

At half-past five, we dined ; and afterwards the 
children, they having had their supper at the same 
time, all came into the parlor, and their mamma would 
play for them on the piano, while they danced around 
in a ring ; or they would have a great frolic with their 
papa until bed-time. 



THE MOUNTAINS AND CAMPAGNA. 19 



CHAPTER II. 

THE MOUNTAINS AND CAMPAGNA. 

I must describe the Campagna, and the mountains 
which we saw from our windows, — the beautiful, 
beautiful mountains, the Sabine and Alban Hills, so 
famous in ancient history, They are twelve and 
twenty miles distant ; but you would not think they 
were more than three or four, they appear so near in 
the clear soft atmosphere. Sometimes, in the winter, 
their tops are covered with snow, which is beautiful 
in the distance, contrasting with the lovely blue of the 
hillsides lower down ; but the snow lasts only a few 
days, when it melts and disappears, flowing down to 
fill the Tiber and other rivers. To this day, the Tiber, 
at certain times, overflows its banks, as it did in those 
days when the twins Romulus and Remus were 
placed in a basket, and thrown upon the water to 
drift along the stream ; but, when the river sank again, 
they were left high and dry upon the bank.* 

* See the companion volume, — Fairies of our Garden: Roman Sto- 
ries. 



20 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

These mountains I have described stand around the 
Campagna, on its borders, like a beautiful frame to 
a handsome picture. 

And the Campagna? It is a great plain a hundred 
miles long, and thirty or forty wide, covered with 
green fields and gentle hills and pretty slopes. On 
this Campagna stands Rome, the old, old city, with 
its walls and streets, and many houses, spreading far 
and wide ; and towering above them all is the splen- 
did dome of St. Peter's. Very fine and beautiful the 
city looks, seen in the distance, with its many tall 
churches and towers, and the green Campagna near, 
and the beautiful blue mountains around. 

From the mountains, the peasants come to plant and 
cultivate the fields on the Campagna. In many parts, 
this is very unhealthy ; and they often become sick, 
and die. This is the reason that there are but few 
houses on the Campagna : only once in a while you 
see a farm-house, besides little shepherds' huts. Great 
flocks of sheep, however, are numerous; and it is 
delightful to see them roaming about. There are also 
great herds of splendid-looking cows and oxen. They 
are of a beautiful gray color, and are immensely large, 
with long, spreading horns, making them look most 
grand and stately. But the horses, the mules, and the 
donkeys that are used in carts, are often miserable 
little animals; so sorry and neglected, — being never 



THE MOUNTAINS AND CAMPAGNA. 21 

washed, and never combed or brushed, — but appearing 
all the more picturesque and interesting just because 
they are so wretched-looking. 

On all the roads coming into the city, there are 
many small, meek-looking donkeys ; and you meet them 
everywhere in the streets with their loads on their 
backs. Sometimes the loads are immense : a large 
pack of wood, or fagots, strapped all around them, 
or a great bundle of hay covering them up, leaving 
but the head and fore-feet peeping out, — so funnily ! 
And sometimes there is a huge bag, as large as the 
donkey, hanging over each side of him ; while on the 
top may be mounted a man or a boy as sorry-looking 
as the little creature itself, as dirty and ragged, but 
appearing as contented as possible. They often go 
singing along, and frequently have a bright flower in 
their button-hole or on their hat ; and sometimes there 
are flowers around the donkey's head. 

When we were travelling through parts of France, 
Germany, and Switzerland, we saw all sorts of little 
animals used : any thing that had four legs and a bach 
seemed to be put to some service. Even dogs were 
going around in little milk-carts. In Geneva, the 
little market-carts, with such little donkeys drawing 
them ; the woman, with a great broad-brimmed hat, 
sitting in the cart, and half filling it, it was so small, 
— looked like children's play. At Lyons, the market- 



22 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

women usually rode upon the little animal, which was 
sometimes not larger than a Newfoundland dog, with 
their panniers slung across ; sometimes they walked 
by their side : in either case, it seemed like sport. 
Certainly our children at home would be delighted 
with such small equipages to drive around all by them- 
selves ; with real milk, eggs, and vegetables ; and go- 
ing from house to house, in play, as if they were real 
market-people ! 

There are many beautiful drives on the Campagna, 
and we often went to visit the ruins which are every- 
where scattered about ; ruins of old temples or tombs, 
which were made, many of them, more than a thou- 
sand years ago. One was a tower built by the first 
Roman emperor, the Emperor Augustus, more than 
eighteen hundred years since, or about the time our 
Saviour lived. It was of a round form, and built of 
brick ; and the bricks are still strongly cemented to- 
gether as if they would never fall to pieces. It is said 
that the emperor afterwards gave the slaves who built 
that tower their freedom. In those times, in Rome, 
all the great and wealthy citizens, and any who could 
afford it, had slaves ; not black, but white men. A 
large portion of the common people were slaves. 
Sometimes, from affection, or for reward, the master 
would free a slave ; and sometimes slaves would pur- 
chase their own freedom. 



THE MOUNTAINS AND CAMPAGNA. 23 

When St. Paul was seized upon, and made prisoner 
at Jerusalem, the captain of the soldiers who guarded 
him, being a Roman, — for they were Roman troops 
that were stationed in that city, as the French are 
now stationed in Rome, — was much surprised when 
St. Paul called himself a Roman citizen, and said that 
he himself had obtained that freedom only " by pay- 
ing a great sum;" which shows that he had once, been 
a slave.* St. Paul replied, that he was " born free." 
He belonged to one of the Roman provinces : therefore 
he had a right to call himself a " Roman," although he 
did not live in the city of Rome. 

The slaves who obtained their freedom were called 
" freedmen," and could then live as respectably as any 
one, and often became the intimate and affectionate 
friends of their former masters. There is no such sys- 
tem of slavery now in Rome : it was done away with 
a long time ago. 

On the great square in front of our house, a regi- 
ment of French troops was stationed. There were 
buildings or barracks in which they lived, and they 
drilled on the square. The French soldiers are re- 

* This is thought to be the most probable meaning; for, although 
citizenship was sometimes purchased by foreigners, this was against 
the laws of Rome, and could usually be done only by bribery, or in a 
covert manner ; and would not then have been likely to have been so 
readily acknowledged as in this case. 



24 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

quired to be very industrious : they make their own 
clothing, mattresses, and such things. Sometimes 
there was a day for inspecting their equipments, to 
see if every thing was in a proper condition. The 
companies were arranged in order on the ground ; 
and each soldier laid his knapsack down before him, 
and took every thing out of it, even to his comb and 
brush, placing them in the most orderly manner in 
front of him, to be looked at by the officers. They 
are obliged to keep every thing as orderly and neat 
as possible. Every day, their guns and accoutrements 
must be rubbed and polished like shining gold and 
silver. But the hardest work of all, one would think, 
must be the drumming, which the drummers have to 
practice, — not a thorough, hearty drumming, which 
there might be some pleasure or satisfaction in, but a 
little quick tap, tap, tap, one after another, as steady 
and precise as the strokes of a clock. It was so like 
machinery, regular and monotonous, that, before 
we knew what it was, we used to think it was a 
machine. And this low, steady, tap, tap, tap, the 
poor drummers had to practise two hours every 
day: we often thought they must be so tired! But 
it helped to make fine music when the whole band 
played together, each one having practised so thor- 
oughly. 

The soldiers exercised every day on the square or 



THE MOUNTAINS AND CAMPAGNA. 25 

piazza,* as they call it in Rome. The children were 
often entertained in standing at the window, and see- 
ing them go through all their various manoeuvres. 
Sometimes they would kneel, as if hiding behind a 
fence or barricade ; and then cautiously raise their 
head as if peeping over it. Then they would half 
rise, and move slowly and stealthily along like a cat 
creeping after a mouse. Often they ran in a line, one 
after another ; or ran all together, dodging this way 
and that. It was very odd and amusing ; and often, 
when they were drilling in squads, I was reminded 
of a story I had recently read in the " Life of Cyrus 
the Great "f (the same Cyrus who is mentioned in 
the Bible as restoring the Jews to their country). 

This king had given a dinner-party one day to 
some of his officers, and they were relating to him 
their various experiences. One of them said that his 
soldiers were so stupid, he could not make them do as 
they should when they were drilling. At last, one 
morning, he told them very emphatically, that they 
must all "follow the leader" and do precisely as they 
saw him do. After they had been drilling a while, 
unfortunately he took a letter from his pocket, and 
gave it to the leader to carry to the post ; desiring 

* Pe-at-sa, pronounced. 

t Abbott's History of Cyrus the Great. 



26 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

him to " run with it" quickly. He did so ; and imme- 
diately every soldier started after him, running with 
all his might, to the great discomfiture and despair 
of the captain ! 



ANCIENT BATHS. — ST. PETER'S. 27 



CHAPTER III. 

ANCIENT BATHS. — ST. PETER'S. 

On the piazza stood a fine, noble church, very near 
us, where we liked often to go with the children ; and 
their nurse took them there very frequently to walk 
about, and to see the pictures and the statues. You 
would not suppose it to be a fine church, seeing it only 
from the outside ; for it is very plain, and looks quite 
as much like a barn as any thing. But when you had 
opened the door, and entered a few steps, it was like a 
grand and beautiful hall all before you, where you 
could walk up and down ; for there was not a pew or 
a seat to fill up the space. 

The light came in so softly through the windows, 
and it was so still and spacious there, it was a lovely 
place to visit. It was almost like a picture-gallery ; for 
there were large pictures on the walls. There was sel- 
dom any one else there. But one morning, when we 
were in, there came a very beautiful boy of ten or 
twelve years of age, who went very quietly, and 
kneeled down a long time, saying his prayers softly to 



28 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

himself... At this moment, I remember an anecdote of 
two little children whom I know very well. The 
little girl, who was about six years old, was kneeling 
by the bedside to say her morning prayers. When she 
arose, her little brother, w r ho happened to be in the 
room, and who was only four years old, exclaimed, 
" Why, Mamie ! you didn't say any thing." — " Oh, yes, 
Frankie ! I prayed to myself," was the answer. " Oh, 
how naughty that was, to pray to yourself! " said the 
little brother. " Mamma told me that we must pray 
only to God." And so the little sister had to explain 
to him that she did pray to God, but said the words 
softly, in her mind, " to herself." * 

I was going to tell about this great church on the 
Square, and how it came there. It was designed by 
one of the great sculptors of former times, — Michael 
Angelo, who was also an architect. It was built among 
some ancient ruins, which he did not wish to destroy 
more than was necessary: so he took a large hall, 
which was a portion of the ruins, for the body of the 
church, and built the rest about it. Some of the great 
stone columns remain standing in the church, just as 
they were placed originally in the ancient building. 
These ruins were once baths, and covered the whole 

* In the Bible, it is said of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, when she 
was praying in the temple, " She spake in her heart: only her lips moved; 
but her voice was not heard." — 1 Sam. i. 13. 



ANCIENT BATHS.— ST. PETER'S. 29 

piazza ; for, in ancient times, the public baths, or bath- 
ing establishments, were on a very large scale, contain- 
ing oftentimes libraries or reading-rooms, places of 
amusement, and so forth. The great hall, which now 
forms the body of the church, was a portion of one of 
these bathing establishments. 

These baths were built fifteen hundred years ago 
by the Emperor Diocletian ; and it is said that many 
thousand slaves, who had become Christians, were 
employed upon the work ; and that afterwards, during 
a terrible persecution which arose, many of these 
slaves were put to death on that account : for the Em- 
peror was not a Christian, although his wife and 
daughter are supposed to have become so, and also 
many who attended him in his palace, and some of the 
best and noblest persons in Rome. But the religion 
of the public was still the same system of heathen 
gods and goddesses that it had ever been. The Chris- 
tian faith had not then been acknowledged by any of 
the emperors, although this was about three hundred 
years after our Saviour was born. Would not those 
Christian slaves or workmen, who had to suffer so 
much on account of their religion, have been happy, 
could they have looked forward, and seen that those 
very halls, which they were building for so different a 
purpose, would one day be turned into Christian 
churches ? 



30 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

The great church of the city of Rome, as is well 
known, is St. Peter's, which always appears beautiful, 
with its paintings on the walls, and its marble statues, 
and the pretty though big angels holding the fonts 
of " holy water." These angels are, in reality, as large 
as a man, although they do not appear so until you are 
very near them : the church being so large, they look 
small in the distance. Then thef e is the row of a hun- 
dred lights always burning day and night around the 
high altar, and the great bronze statue which is 
thought to have once represented a heathen emperor, 
but is now called St. Peter ; and there are the many 
persons, young and old, rich and poor, monks, beggars, 
and all classes, who, as they pass, stop, and kiss its toe. 
There this statue has sat on its lofty chair for hundreds 
of years, I suppose, and received this homage, until the 
toe that has been kissed is half worn away. 

There are vespers at the church two or three times 
a week, at four o'clock in the afternoon. On one of 
those afternoons, soon after we arrived in Rome, we 
went to hear them. The music is in one of the chap- 
els, of which there are many in the church (a chapel, 
in one of these large churches, is a sort of apartment, 
or a smaller church, each with an altar in it). The 
singers are within this chapel, and many of the priests 
and high officers of the church are seated around, 
which leaves very little room for other persons; but 



ANCIENT BATHS.— ST. PETER'S. 31 

the music is very fine, and crowds collect around the 
entrance of the chapel to hear it, St. Peter's will hold 
forty thousand people. What an immense church! 
But you would not suppose it to be so large until you 
have been in it many times, and discovered all the 
chapels and out-of-the-way places. Before coming in, 
we had seen hundreds, almost, entering : but when we 
ourselves had entered, there seemed to be scarcely any 
one there; for they directly disappeared among the 
different parts of the church ; and, unless one is very 
careful, he might become separated from his friends, 
and be quite lost, and not able to find them again. 

When you go up into the great dome overhead, you 
discover how very large the church is ; for there are 
immense letters, printed in mosaic, around the walls of 
the dome, each as tall as a man, but which, while you 
were standing on the floor below, looking up, you could 
scarcely see, they were so small in the distance. And 
when you stand in the gallery that runs around the 
dome, seeing those letters larger than yourself close by 
you, and look down upon the people who are walking 
about beneath, they appear like small animals moving 
around, or like mere children. It is delightful going 
up into the dome of St. Peter's. One can ride 
upon a donkey, if one pleases ; for the stairs are so 
gradual, each step so low, that a donkey can easily go 
up and down : and, if one is not very strong, it will 



32 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

save the trouble and fatigue of the long, long, winding 
way. Probably many persons go up and down on 
donkeys. 

And when you go out upon the roof, how wonderful 
it is again ! so spacious and extensive, — almost like a 
little village. You can imagine that the smooth places 
on the roof are paved streets, and that the smaller 
domes here and there are churches. There are enor- 
mous stone statues, too, on the parapets, which look like 
grand ornaments for the little town. And there are 
also rooms to live in quite like cottages, where some 
of the workmen stay ; for there are always workmen 
attending to the repairing of the church. And there 
is a great reservoir of water always standing, with a 
long-handled dipper tied to it, where you can stop to 
drink. 

And from the roof you can have a magnificent 
view, — the city with its houses, towers, and domes ; 
the green country, and beautiful mountains at a dis- 
tance ; for the Church of St. Peter is the highest in the 
world excepting one, — the Strasburg Cathedral. 

But, at this particular time, we did not go to ascend 
into the dome, nor to the roof of the church : we only 
went to hear the vespers, — the music. So we will re- 
turn now to the entrance of the chapel, where crowds 
of persons were waiting, and we found it impossible to 
enter. It is very fatiguing to stand all the while for 



ANCIENT BATHS. — ST. PETER'S. 33 

an hour or more outside the chapel ; for, although one 
can hear the music there,. there are no seats: there- 
fore what should we do ? 

The young gentleman who was with us happened to 
be acquainted with one of the priests, of whom there 
are always several about the church; and he went 
and asked him if he would be so kind as to allow us to 
go into a little gallery that was inside of the chapel, 
and where we could sit and see as well as hear. The 
priest very politely conducted us in, where we had a 
fine place opposite the choir, and could observe all the 
choristers, each with his white lace or linen surplice 
over his shoulders; and seated all along below were 
rows of little boys who officiate in the church, each with 
the crown of his head shaved, as all the priests have 
theirs, and wearing a little white, short, loose sur- 
plice,* with a black robe underneath. And there were 
dignitaries with handsome lace capes over black or 
purple gowns, and cardinal's with a little scarlet cap 
on the top of the head. 

When the singing commences, all is as still as pos- 
sible ; for it is a sacred service, and the music is beau- 
tiful, — different from any other that is heard, excepting 
in these Roman churches. Many persons are so fasci- 

* This surplice is a loose white garment of lace or linen, reaching 
down to the waist, and gathered around the neck : it is made with 



3 



34 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

nated with the music, that they consider it their great- 
est pleasure to go and hear the vespers at St. Peter's. 
We also enjoyed it very much, and went whenever we 
had an opportunity. 



CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 35 



CHAPTER IV. 



CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 



About a month before Christmas, the festival season 
begins, and then continues all winter. In the after- 
noons, the streets are full of animation, thronged with 
carriages and people. We, too, went about shopping, 
and looking for things for a Christmas-tree, which the 
children's mamma was going to have at her house. 
The shops were filled with the most beautiful toys of 
every description. Great tables and counters were set 
out in the middle of the floor, on which the things were 
spread as if all ready for a festival. 

And, at this season, peasants come from the moun- 
tains with their bagpipes, and go about the city, and 
stand before the shrines * of the Madonna, which are 
often at the corners of the streets, playing their wild 
ditties or some sacred hymn.t They are dressed in 
curious style, in their country costume, with sugar- 
loaf hat, and an old brown cloak over the shoulders, 

* Pictures of the Virgin Mary, set up in a little box, or frame, 
t These peasants are called " Pifferari," 



36 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

They have usually a little boy with them, with long 
curling locks, dressed in small-clothes, with little gaiters 
buttoned up to the knee, and a little pointed-crowned 
hat, adorned with a feather, on his head. Artists and 
painters often seize upon this little boy while he re- 
mains in the city, taking him for a model : he looks so 
like a picture, with his long fair hair and rosy cheeks. 
Many a time, when we went into a studio, we have 
met him with his sparkling black eyes, looking so 
roguish, yet taking hold of his good old gray-headed 
grandfather's hand, walking quietly by his side ; and 
you could not but toss him a penny, he looked so 
pretty and good-natured. 

On those evenings before Christmas, we often had 
entertaining times at home. Sometimes an Italian 
friend would come in, and, playing on his violin, would 
accompany the children's mamma on the piano, making 
beautiful music; and once a German gentleman, an 
artist, brought in some puppets, which he had made on 
purpose to amuse us. They were the funniest little 
creatures, made out of potatoes! A potato was 
painted for the head and face, and then a little body 
was dressed, and joined to it. They were arranged on 
a table, with a screen placed behind them ; and behind 
the screen the gentleman stood, that he might not 
be seen : then, putting his hands through to manage 
them, he made them act a little comedy, going 



CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 37 

through all sorts of tricks and funny speeches. They 
were comical enough ! 

The Italians are very fond of plays and farces, and 
sometimes one was extemporized for our amusement ; 
such as imitating & foreigner buying pictures and statues 
in Rome, making mistakes so very ludicrous in the 
language and all, that it made one laugh very heartily. 

We were also very busy at this time making various 
little things for the Christmas-tree ; such as pen- wipers, 
needle-books, pin-cushions, &c. There was to be quite 
a large party, and every one was to have a present. 
At length the evening came ; and I wish you could 
have seen the beautiful tree ! It was filled with pres- 
ents ; and all the American children were invited to 
come and receive them. There was something for 
each and for every guest. There were about twenty 
children, besides their parents and friends. It was in 
the evening, and every thing looked so beautiful ! 

The tall tree was a laurel, taken from the garden, 
and hung all over with oranges, also from the gar- 
den ; large yellow oranges, some of them gilded (the 
laurel itself is not very unlike an orange-tree, with its 
deep-green, polished leaves). It was lighted with forty 
or fifty candles, placed in among the green leaves ; and 
from it were suspended all the bright and gay things 
that were to be distributed. There were dolls and 
lovely baskets, and numerous pretty things. 



38 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

When the company were assembled, and had looked 
at all the pretty gifts, there was then a dance in a ring, 
of a child and a gentleman or lady alternately. It was 
exceedingly pretty and delightful; and both great 
ones and little ones enjoyed it much. 

When any of the artists came in, the children's papa 
led them up to the tree, and gave them some of the 
laurel-leaves. It is the same laurel of which the an- 
cient Romans used to make wreaths and crowns. 
After a while, the presents were distributed ; and such 
beautiful things to the children! — splendid toys, baby- 
houses, tea-sets, dolls, and bonbons of every descrip- 
tion, in all sorts of fanciful styles. And shall I tell you 
what somebody received ? A beautiful mosaic bracelet 
with a pin to match, and a little cross of green mala- 
chite, and a pretty china muff lined with silk, &c. 

Then came refreshments ; and afterwards every one 
departed, delighted with the evening's entertainment. 
Nannine went tolbed fairly tired out with delight and 
pleasure, never having sat up so late before. Little 
Lulu and Gianina* had long been fast asleep. 

I should have told you of Christmas Eve first of all, 
since that came before ; for our tree was on Christmas 
evening. There was, on that eve, a beautiful ceremony, 
which is held every year in a church near us, the Santa 

* G has the soft sound before the diphthong, as in the syllable jah : 
the second i has the sound of e, as if Gia-nee-na. 



CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 39 

Maria Maggiore. The church was splendidly illumi- 
nated by thousands of candles. The Pope was there, 
in a handsome dress ; but we were too late to see him, 
as there was a great crowd, and we only went in for a 
short time after he had entered, and soon came away. 
We saw the procession, however, up and down the 
long nave, carrying the cradle, or piece of the cradle, 
in which the infant Saviour was laid (as the Roman 
Catholics believe). This is carried back and forth 
through the church several times, that every one may 
have an opportunity of seeing it. It is enclosed in a 
pretty glass case ; and the people in gay dresses, 
and a guard of soldiers with their bright uniform* 
stand around, making all look very handsome and 
beautiful. 

The ceremonies at St. Peter's, on Christmas Day, 
are too long and magnificent to be described here : we 
must leave such for larger books, and only say that the 
Pope is carried through the church, in a chair raised on 
poles, across the shoulders of four men, all dressed in 
scarlet gowns ; and on each side of him is carried an 
immense fan of elegant ostrich-feathers. As he passes 
along, he extends his hands, and blesses the people, 
who kneel a little at his approach. He is a pleasant, 
kind-looking old gentleman. The procession of cardi- 
nals and bishops and priests and monks, and the long 



40 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

files of soldiers between which the procession passes, 
make a splendid show. 

tannine and her sister were too young to go to 
such scenes then; but they went when they were 
older. There was, however, a pretty festival of the 
Church, to which their good Italian maid Pina * liked 
to take the children every year: it is described in the 
next chapter. 

* Pronounced Pe-naj a contraction of Giuseppina, — Josephine. 



FESTIVAL AT THE ABA CIEZL 41 



CHAPTER V. 

FESTIVAL AT THE AKA CTETJ. 

Twelfth Day, the Epiphany, or Befani, as the Ital- 
ians call it, is the grand day of the Christmas festivities ; 
the day on which they make their presents, and not on 
Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, as we do in America- 
There is a great fair then held in one of the public 
squares, where all kinds of things are to be bought, — 
little carts and horses, trumpets, drums, and dolls. 

How noisy the square is with the many screeching 
trumpets! — almost every child buying one, and think- 
ing he is making delightful music. 

But the great festival of the day is that of the 
"Santissimo Bambino. 55 * The Bambino is a carved 
wooden figure of the infant Jesus. It is richly dressed 
in silk and jewels, and is carried upright, in a proces- 
sion which goes up and down the church. It is a great 
occasion ; and crowds of people, who come in from the 
country around, fill the church. As the Bambino 

* " Holy Child." 



42 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

passes, they fall on their knees; for they- think that 
this image performs miraculous cures : and, in time of 
great sickness in the city, it is carried around from 
house to house, and money is paid just as it would be 
for a physician. In a part of the church, the Ara Cieli, 
where the festival is held, a small stage is fitted up, 
with several figures in wax as large as life ; namely, 
the three wise men and Joseph, with the Virgin 
mother, showily dressed in silks and laces, sitting in 
the centre. By her side is the manger with the infant 
Jesus ; and a great ox or cow stands behind it. 

And, besides, there is sometimes a sweet little real 
girl or boy of five, six, seven, or eight years, who stands 
before the Virgin and Child, reciting a pretty piece ; 
his own, if the child be large enough, otherwise a 
piece learned by rote. Hans Andersen gives a very 
pretty account of one of these.* He says, — 

"I was waked every morning by the bagpipes of 
the pifferari; and my first occupation then was to read 
over my lesson ; for I was one of the children selected, 
6 boys and girls,' who . . . were to preach in the church 
Ara Cieli, before the image of Jesus. 

" I . . . the boy of nine . . . had had a rehearsal, 
standing upon a table. It would be upon such a one, 
only that a carpet would be laid over it, that we chil- 
dren should be placed in the church, where we, before 
* In the Improvisators 



FESTIVAL AT THE AHA CIELL 43 

the assembled multitudes, must repeat the speech, 
which we had learned by rote, about the bleeding 
heart of the Madonna, and the beauty of the child 
Jesus. 

" I knew nothing of fear : it was only with joy that 
my heart beat so violently, as I stepped forward, and 
saw all eyes directed to me. That I, of all the chil- 
dren, gave most delight, seemed decided; but now 
there was lifted up a little girl, who was of so exqui- 
sitely delicate a form, and who had, at the same time, 
so wonderfully bright a countenance, and such a me- 
lodious voice, that all exclaimed aloud that she was a 
little angelic child. Even my mother, who would gladly 
have awarded to me the palm, declared aloud that she 
was just like one of the angels in the great altar-piece. 
The wonderfully dark eyes, the raven-black hair, the 
childlike and yet so wise expression of countenance, 
the exquisitely small hands, — nay, it seemed to me 
that my mother said too much of all these, although 
she added that I was also an angel of God. 

" There is a song about the nightingale, which, when 
it was quite young, sat in the nest, and pricked the 
green leaves of the rose, without being aware of the 
buds which were just beginning to form. Months af- 
terwards, the rose unfolded itself: the nightingale sang 
only of it, flew among the thorns, and wounded itself. 
The song often occurred to me when I became older : 



44 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

but, in the church Ara Cieli, I knew it not ; neither 
my ears nor my heart knew it ! " 

To such a pretty scene the children often went with 
their good nurse Pina. 

It is. true that these ceremonies in the churches are 
fine shows; and often they are very beautiful, from 
the many bright-colored dresses, and gay soldiers all 
around, and picturesque appearances of every kind; 
and they are interesting also, from the enjoyment of 
the people, and the great earnestness and seriousness 
they manifest in what they are engaged in ; as when 
the Bambino is carried up and down the church. 

But it seems strange to us Protestants that they 
should believe that this can perform miraculous cures ; 
for we never have been accustomed to think that an 
image is capable of such things. There is no doubt, 
however, that most of these persons really believe it ; 
for it has been the faith of the country for very many 
years. And it is very possible that cures may some- 
times be effected in this manner, — carrying it around 
from house to house ; as often a little new excitement, 
or change of ideas, and a hope and encouragement of 
getting well, work wonders in sick persons; and, if 
they only have faith that they are going to be cured, 
this of itself puts them in the very best condition 
for being so, even if it were but medicine that they 
believed in. 



FESTIVAL AT TEE AHA CIELL 45 

And the "cradle" also, that was carried on Christ- 
mas Eve, the Roman Catholics believe to be a piece of 
the real manger in which the child Jesus was laid. 
We do not think so ; for we do not suppose it to have 
been sufficiently thought of at the time to have been 
preserved. Besides, being of wood, it could not, prob- 
ably, in the numerous changes that were occurring, 
have been kept and handed down for so many centu- 
ries, — almost two thousand years. 

It was now January, and the following extracts from 
letters, after the mention of the children, show the 
beautiful winter we were having. . . . "Yesterday was 
Nannine's fifth birthday. She has already made a 
good deal of progress in her lessons; is a bright, 
amusing little creature, and very capable ; and, occupy- 
ing the same room with me, is a great deal of company 
morning and night. She has been with the others in 
the garden, and has just brought me up a large purple 
anemone, ' because,' she says, I ' had not the pleasure 
of being there too.' . . . Every morning, after break- 
fast, we go into the garden, and stay an hour, and play 
about. Nannine's mamma and little sister and cousin 
go too. We sometimes pick up oranges that have 
fallen from the trees in the walk, and play ball with 
them. The children play horse, and have a hoop, 
which they are learning to roll; and they jump and 



46 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

run, and gather flowers ; for many flowers are bloom- 
ing all winter, such as the violets, pansies, gillyflowers, 
and some kinds of roses. The wall-flower and narcis- 
sus and laurustinus began to blossom by the first of 
January. The weather is very sunny and pleasant. 
The green vegetables are growing all the time, and 
make the garden look quite beautiful. There are 
many, many birds among the bushes and hedges : they 
are building their nests, and are beginning to sing very 
pleasantly. The pretty little lizards too, which have 
been hidden away for some time, are creeping out of 
their little holes, and running about in the bright sun," 

In February, the Carnival came ; and what a merry 
time it was! Day after day, the grown-up people 
played and frolicked in the streets just like chil- 
dren. 

Every day, about one o'clock, the sport begins. The 
Corso, the long street of the city, was hung all along, 
out of the windows, with gay-colored mats and carpet- 
ing and drapery ; and the sidewalks and doors below, 
and the windows and balconies above, were filled with 
people ready to look on, or take a part in the public frolic. 
There were ladies in bright costumes, and gentlemen 
in any fanciful dress that they pleased, and all sorts of 
clowns and harlequins going through the street, the boys 
following after them, and everybody laughing, and play- 



FESTIVAL AT THE ABA CIELL 47 

ing funny tricks, and throwing confetti at each other 
(little balls of lime, white and small, like sugar-plums). 
Great baskets of confetti are for sale at all the corners 
of the streets, and are brought up into your balcony if 
you wish for them; and baskets filled with little 
bunches of flowers. What quantities of flowers! hun- 
dreds and hundreds of basketfuls are thrown about 
from one to another. 

The gentlemen in the balcony above showered the 
confetti upon us; and, when that was gone, they 
poured upon us quantities of sugar-almonds, many of 
which fell into the street, as well as many bouquets 
which were thrown, to the great delight of the little 
ragged boys, who scrambled for them, and who were 
especially delighted when coppers were thrown down 
to them. 

All, of course, are good-natured, let happen what 
will, — even with a whole quart of the white, flowery 
lime-pease, thrown right into their faces, and on their 
heads, and all over their coats. They only look up, and 
shrug their shoulders, and turn away and laugh, and 
try to do the same to some one else. 

Then, after everybody has had a great deal of sport 
all the afternoon, about sunset comes the great excite- 
ment of seeing horses race through the street. The 
carriages are all cleared away, and every one is made 
to stand close upon the sidawalks, that they may not 



48 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

be run over; and then from one end of the Corso, when 
the signal is given, nine or ten horses start to run. 
They have gay trimmings about them ; and, having no 
rider on their back, they dart by almost with the swift- 
ness of lightning ; and the horse which arrives first at 
the other end of the Corso is the victor. The race is 
a mile long, and the horses really look quite handsome; 
and it is very exciting to see them pass by so swiftly. 
Every night, while Carnival lasts, the same horses run 
in the same manner. 

On Sundays and Fridays there is no Carnival, but 
all the rest of the time it grows merrier and merrier 
every day, — it seems as if people were wild with sport, 
— until the last day, which is more merry than all ; 
for, after the horse-race, the " Moccoli " begin. These 
are little lighted torches, which every one takes in 
their hand, and tries to keep burning, while everybody 
else tries to put them out. So, when you have taken 
great care, and think you are quite secure, and that 
nobody can touch your light, all at once, before you 
know it, comes a great handkerchief flapping over it, 
putting it out in a moment ! Then you try to get it 
lighted again, and you have such a time ! Some one 
blows it on one side, and somebody else blows it on 
another; or, when you have succeeded in getting it 
safely lighted, you think you will slyly blow out some 
one else's ; and lo and behold ! when you turn round, 



FESTIVAL AT THE Alt A CIELI. 49 

some one has thrown a huge wet towel perhaps over 
yours, and put it all out again ! Then you get a long 
pole, and fasten your torch to the end of that, thinking 
you will keep it far out of anybody's reach ; but again, 
before you know it, some one has got a pole longer 
still, and has dashed yours all down! 

Still every one is as good-natured as can be ; and, 
when his light is extinguished, he calls out, "Senza 
moccolo, senza moccolo!" — "No light, no light!" 

It is so beautiful a sight to see these lights all dan- 
cing about, the whole street filled with them, and all 
the carriages and windows and balconies ! After an 
hour or more, the people, tired out, begin to drop 
away, calling out, " The Carnival is dead, the Carnival 
is dead ! " and soon the street is cleared. Those who 
wish go to the opera or the masquerade-ball, — when 
there is one, — and this is the end of the week of frol- 
icsome sports in the street; and then come on the 
forty quiet days of Lent. 

From the next chapter, we follow the journal, or 
diary. 



50 CHILD-LIFE IN ITAL Y. 



CHAPTER VI. 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 



March 13. — All winter, the children were in the 
habit of going into the garden to play directly after 
breakfast; but they have long given it up, as it is too 
sunny and warm there now in the mornings. Instead, 
we go into the street, and walk an hour on the shady 
side of it. The hyacinths with many other flowers 
have been in full bloom in the garden. The perfume 
from them is very strong. Nannine brought up a bou- 
quet of them the other day, and we had to put them 
outside of the window ; and even then, when we went 
towards them, the scent was quite strong enough to be 
pleasant. 

We have had a box of earth placed in our window, 
and planted with morning-glories and sweet-pease and 
mignonette and china-asters. The seeds all came from 
America, although they have all those plants here too. 
The vines and flowers will look so sweet about the 
windows when they are grown ! Far down below our 
window, in a little yard near the basement, is a family 
of hens, which we often pet by throwing them some- 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 51 

thing to eat. We like to hear them cackling and crow- 
ing, it sounds so like the country ; and sometimes the 
good porter's wife, who takes care of them, brings us in 
some fresh eggs for breakfast. 

One of the favorite calls of the children often, when 
we are walking out in the morning, is at a yard of hens 
and ducks, geese, turkeys, and peacocks, which all live 
very lovingly together apparently. We have never 
seen any trouble among them ; and so they are quite 
entitled, we think, to the name of the " Happy Family." 
The great door of their yard is always open into a pas- 
sage-way, also with its door always wide open, and 
which leads directly into the street ; and yet we have 
never seen them straying out. We think them a 
remarkably contented, well-behaved set of fowls. 
They have a good space to move about in, plenty to 
eat, I suppose, and a fountain of water always trick- 
ling for them ; all which, perhaps, tends to keep them 
in such good heart and spirits. The peacock is a hand- 
some creature, with his long, splendid, trailing feathers. 
Three pea-hens, without the showy tail, accompany his 
lordship ; but he does not seem to be a very gallant 
bird : he appears not to take any notice of them at all ; 
which is not treating them quite civilly, in our opinion. 

April. — The children have a new, sweet little baby- 
sister ; a lovely little thing! 



52 CHILD-LIFE IJST ITALY/ 

In the afternoon, Nannine, Gianina, and Lulu, all 
three went with me to walk down town. On our 
return, when we came into the villa, we found the 
prince and princess (who own the house) there with 
their three children. They had been walking in the 
garden, as they often do; and when their little 
daughter, who is four years old, saw our little 
girls, she came running down the avenue to meet 
them, and give them a bunch of flowers she had 
been picking. Then the prince came up, and in- 
quired about the baby, and asked what was her name 
(she was almost a little "May" flower; and in this 
book, when she becomes old enough, we shall call her 
"Memie"). . . . 

Although it is now only April, the weather is like 
June in America; and the country is looking very 
rich and beautiful. Every thing is full of life. 
Numerous little lizards are running about the garden 
walls; and the fountains and reservoirs are full of 
frogs, which croak from very happiness day and 
night, joining the chorus of the birds which fill every 
tree. 

Some nightingales have made their nests in a hedge 
of laurel-trees near the house, and sing all night very 
sweetly near our window. 

The following letter tells more about the night- 
ingales: — 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 53 

Rome, April 15, 185— 
My dear M., — It is about nine o'clock in the even- 
ing ; and the nightingales, as usual, have begun their 
singing for the night. They sing during the day, but 
stop about sunset, — I suppose, to rest themselves, — 
and then begin again about this hour. Their song is 
very sweet, and I hear it almost as plainly in my room 
(certainly I should quite if the windows were open) as 
if I were out of doors. They sing all the time they are 
sitting upon their eggs, day and night. Their note 
is nearly or quite as loud as the robin's ; not long, but 
very sweet and liquid and musical. Part of it is a sort 
of whistle. I presume they enjoy the bright moonlight 
nights ; for their song does not seem to me mournful 
as we have usually heard that it is. Indeed, it seems 
rather cheerful, — especially in the evening, when 
almost every thing else is still, — and as if their 
little souls were full of joy. It is delightful to hear 
them. 

I believe the nightingale is not very common in the 
city, but they have them in the country ; and our large 
villa back of the house is just like the country. I dare 
say the birds deceive themselves, and think they are 
far away from many people ; for there are thousands 
of them, thrushes and sky-larks, in the trees and 
hedges. The poor little thrushes get shot sometimes. 
We often have them for dinner (not our own; at 



54 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

least, not to our knowledge) : they are bought in 
the market, and cost very little, — about three cents a 
piece. 

The little larks too — they are such mites of birds 
when dressed for the table! they look very pretty; but 
I think they are too small to be eaten. 

Perhaps you would like the little innocent-looking 
lizards that run about in the grass and on the walls. 
They are pretty little creatures : some are cunning 
little ones, all green; and others are brown and 
striped. The children often try to catch them; but 
they are too swift. They dart into their holes the 
moment you put out your hand to touch them ; but, by 
whistling, you can make them stop perfectly still. It 
seems to be a sort of charm for them, and they turn 
and look at you with their little bright eyes ; and their 
little heart, which you always see panting quickly 
when they are suddenly startled, goes quieter and 
quieter, as if they enjoyed the sounds. 

• ••••••••• 

April 23. — This morning, we gathered wild-flowers 
in the villa, — daisies, buttercups, &c, like those in 
America. 

The orange-trees are now covered with their beauti- 
ful buds and blossoms, and the whole avenue is fra- 
grant with them. The sun is very hot, and we avoid 
walking in it almost as we would in a pond of water. 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 55 

But a fresh wind springing up frequently makes the 
shade comfortable. 

May 9. — We have had strawberries for a fortnight, 
and now have cherries. 

May 31. — This morning, Nannine went with me to 
the Gesu, one of the great churches in Rome, where 
there was some grand music, and a beautiful illumina- 
tion too ; for every day during this month they have 
candles lighted around the high altar, — beginning 
with a few, and increasing the number every day, — 
until, at the last day, it becomes a splendid illumina- 
tion. 

Before the candles were lighted, there was some 
magnificent music on the organ. Then there was quite 
a long sermon; and, while the congregation were 
turned towards the preacher, the candles were being 
lighted behind them ; and when the sermon was over, 
and they turned round again towards the altar, it was 
all sparkling with light, — just like a magic scene. 
Then there was more beautiful music for half an hour, 
and all the time the people were kneeling. 

While we sat listening to the music, we thought two 
or three times that we heard thunder, but concluded it 
was a sound of the organ. When we came out of the 
church, sure enough, it was no make-believe. The sky 
was darkened ; a few drops began to fall ; and we had 
just time to take the last carriage on the square, when 



56 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the rain came down in a perfect sheet of water, and 
there were hail-stones as big as large peas! In five 
minutes' time, the streets were like running rivers, 
and our poor horse looked drenched through and 
through; but we could not help it. All we could 
do was to keep the boot close around us (for it hap- 
pened to be a little, one-horse cariole, which was all 
we could get), that we might not get thoroughly- 
drenched also. In a quarter of an hour we were 
landed safe at home, although quite wet. I think I 
never saw so heavy a shower, and it was the first we 
have had this season. 

How obliging the driver was through all that hard 
rain ! He might almost have refused to take us home 
until it was over; but we did not know that the 
shower was going to be so heavy when we started, or 
we might have waited somewhere. 

June. — The children have had to part with their 
dear little cousin Lulu, whose society they have enjoyed 
so much all winter. She has gone home to America with 
her papa and mamma. She learned to understand and 
speak Italian very nicely while she was here, almost as 
readily as she spoke English, — and French too ; for she 
speaks both, although she is only four years old. Her 
own nurse was an English woman : but little Lulu picked 
up Italian playing in the nursery with the children, 
who frequently used it in their play ; and their Italian 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 57 

maid was almost always there, who spoke no English, 
excepting a few words that she picked up when she 
went with the family on a visit to America the year 
before, and which she would use sometimes so funnily ! 
This good nurse Pina was very lively with the chil- 
dren. She generally took them out to walk in the 
afternoon; and in the nursery she would play with 
them, and amuse them by singing, and telling stories. 
This was a very good school, too, for little Lulu, in 
learning the language; and although it was some time 
before she was willing to speak Italian out of the 
nursery, in presence of the rest of the family, before 
she went away she had learned to speak it very well. 

How sorry were the children — and we all were — 
to have their dear uncle, and sweet aunt, and little 
cousin, go away, we had had such a delightful winter 
with them all ! 

Lulu had a fine baby-house at home, filled with all 
sorts of dolls; and, just before she went away, I made 
her a little doll's cradle to put into it, to remind her 
of us. It was really quite pretty, made of pasteboard, 
about six inches long, stuffed with cotton to make it 
soft and to give it a handsome shape, covered with 
pink cle laine, and lined with silk ; and it had little 
rockers to rock like a real cradle. It was thought to 
be quite a " triumph of genius" 



58 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

It is now summer; and the dining-hour has been 
changed from five to two o'clock, and the two little 
girls dine with the whole family. 

The sun is so hot, that we cannot go out excepting 
very early, and towards sunset : so, to get a little more 
exercise in the open air, Nannine goes out with me 
before breakfast ; and we walk an hour or more, and 
find it very healthful. And then between five and six 
in the afternoon we go into the garden, and the chil- 
dren play; their mamma and I strolling about, and 
reading or working, and talking or playing with them : 
and their papa, after his work, often comes and joins 
us; and then the children have a fine time walking 
and playing with him, if he is not busy walking and 
talking with their mamma. 

Often we drive out on the Campagna, and ramble 
about among the green fields, picking daisies, which 
Gianina and Nannine are very fond of doing. 

And the dear baby! — I remember me, I have said 
nothing of late of the little one, now three months 
old ; a good, bright, pretty little thing ; indeed, an 
" uncommonly fine " child ! She begins to laugh, and 
to take notice of things. 

On the Fourth of July, we were all to go into the 
country, to Albano, to spend the day. But poor 
baby had been vaccinated, and was so sick and fever- 
ish that day, that she could not be taken ; and mamma 



SPRING AND SUMMER. 59 

could not leave her to go : so none of us went. The 
baby is quite well now. 

July 20. — Just as I was writing, the children's mam- 
ma called me to go down street with her to buy a hat 
for the baby. We walked down, and found a lovely 
one of white and pink silk ; and then we took a car- 
riage on the square to come home. 

We had not driven far, when we were stopped in 
one of the streets by the cortege of the Pope, which 
was approaching. One of the escort, an officer on 
horseback, rode forward, with a drawn sword in his 
hand, to clear the way; for the Pope's carriage was just 
behind. He was returning from the country, where 
he had been spending a month. There were about 
twenty or twenty-four gentlemen of the "Guardia 
Nobile " for escort, — who always accompany the Pope 
when he drives out, — mounted on horses, and looking 
very handsome in their riding-suit, which is dark-blue, 
with gold trimmings and long boots. They came 
first ; and then the Pope's carriage, with four elegant 
black horses. We had a fine chance to see him, as he 
sat by the window of the carriage, looking very cheer- 
ful and happy. 

We had to wait on the side of the street while the 
cortege passed. They drove quickly by ; and, though 
it was soon over, it was a beautiful show, — the many 
horses were so spirited, ancl the gentlemen all of 



60 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

whom belong to the nobility, were so elegant in 
their appearance ! 

While the Pope was in the country (at Castel Gan- 
dolfo), the King of Naples brought his baby to him 
there to be christened. 



The following letter to a little girl mentions among 
other things a visit that we were then thinking of 
making into the country : — 

July 18. 

Dear Lizzy, — ... I have not written before that we 
are having fresh figs, which, I dare say, you would think 
very delicious, and like better than I do, as you have 
such a sweet tooth. I like them better, however, than 
I did; and probably I shall soon be as fond of them as 
every one here is. The natives of warm climates, I 
believe, are always fond of them. The apricots and 
peaches are very good. 

Next week we are going to Albano for a few days, 
a town twelve miles from Rome. Then we shall spend 
the time in making excursions to the neighboring 
towns, and to Lake Nemi, which is very beautiful. 
All the rides are taken on donkey-back, and we are 
anticipating great pleasure. ... 

The model for one of the great statues of the 
Richmond Monument has just been finished by the 



SPUING AND SUMMER. 61 



r 



children's papa. It is now to be cast in bronze, and 
must be sent for that purpose to Munich, which has 
the greatest bronze foundery in Europe. There are to 
be six statues of some of our celebrated men, besides 
an equestrian statue of Washington. They are all 
twice as large as life, and will look very grand indeed. 
When it is completed, this will be the most splendid 
monument in our country. I hope you will one day 
see it ; for those great and good men who so faithfully 
served their country deserve to have a memorial that 
every one can see, and through which one may learn 
to admire them. 

Rome is the city of artists ; and very often we go 
into the studios of the sculptors and painters to see 
their many beautiful works, — marble statues and 
paintings. The children like very much to get clay, 
and model it into little figures, as they see their papa 
do.* They will sit almost a whole afternoon with an 

* A model of his work in clay is the first thing that a sculptor 
makes. He forms it completely, just as he wishes to have the finished 
statue. A mould or cast of this clay figure is then taken in plaster of 
Paris ; and finally a facsimile of the plaster cast is made in marble, 
if that is to be the material of the finished work. The marble figure 
might have been copied immediately from the clay, only that the clay 
cannot be preserved long enough: it dries and cracks. It is necessary, 
therefore, to put it into the more enduring material of plaster. 



62 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

apron on, and a little table before them, making all 
sorts of things ; not minding at all their clayey, black- 
ened fingers. And the little Italian boys in the streets 
will take a piece of clay, and model it into a little 
animal — a dog or a cow — very nicely indeed, and 
so readily ! We have sometimes seen them working or 
playing thus out doors on the sidewalks. 



EXCURSIONS IN THE COUNTRY. 63 



CHAPTER VII. 

EXCURSIONS IN THE COUNTRY. 

Imagine us on a bright Monday morning, a week 
ago, all packed into a vettura (a common carriage or 
carryall), driving along the Via Appia, across the green 
Campagna, twelve miles, to the town of Albano. 

How fresh and pleasant the air became as we arrived 
near the hills, the Alban Hills, — those very hills where 
the " long, white city" was ! * And we were going to 
the very town that stands near the site of the old Alba, 
where were born the twins that were thrown into the 
Tiber; and who, after they were grown to be large 
boys, were taken back to live in Alba again with the 
king their grandfather. And there were other inter- 
esting events connected with Alba; for here lived 
the triplets, the Curatii, who contended hand to 
hand with the Roman triplets, three brothers at 
a birth, the Horatii. In this contest, the Romans were 
victors ; and, after a while, the city of Alba itself was 

* See the companion volume, — Fairies of our Garden: Roman Sto- 



64 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

conquered and destroyed by the Romans, and the peo- 
ple were made to leave their homes, and wander — 
whole families, fathers and mothers and children — 
across this very Campagna that we were travelling over, 
to go and live in Rome. This helped to make Rome 
so large a city as it was in ancient times. 

Well, we came to this old town, Albano, among 
the mountains, or near the mountains ; for it is on the 
slope of a hill, and so old a town ! It looks dark and 
dingy with age. The streets are narrow, and the 
houses built close together; so close, it is almost like 
one long house. 

It seemed as if everybody was in the street ; not 
only men, but women and children, — without any 
bonnets on their heads, — as if they were all living to- 
gether, one family : they looked so sociable and uncere- 
monious ! And the houses — they appeared to have no 
windows; or the lower stories, at least. There was 
only the door to let in the light; and you did not won-, 
der that the people should like to be out in the bright 
open air, instead of in those dark rooms. And the 
streets — they seemed full of every description of litter ; 
but sometimes, in the mornings for instance, they were 
swept up a little. 

But it was all delightfully interesting, every thing 
was so wonderfully different from the life we see " at 
home ; " that is, in America, where almost every thing 



EXCURSIONS IN THE COUNTRY. 65 

has a fresh, new look. This town is as many as two 
thousand years old ; and probably it looks almost ex- 
actly as it did in those old days when Pompey, Caesar, 
and Cicero, and all those celebrated men, were liv- 
ing, and came into the country often to pass some time 
in their beautiful villas : for Pompey the Great had an 
elegant villa in this place, which is now the Doria 
Villa. It is at present a sort of wild grove, but a 
beautiful place to walk and play in among the shady 
trees ; and we often went there, for it was near the 
hotel where we stopped. There are some brick walls 
remaining, which are the ruins of Pompey's house, and 
the cellar, as the boys* told us, where he used to keep 
his wine, with a rough-carved stone lion on the side of 
the steps that go down to it. On the roadside, before 
we come to Albano, is a large stone tomb like a tall 
tower, where Pompey is supposed to have been buried. 
It is very near ; and, when you are in the villa, you can 
see it through an opening in the trees. 

How interested Nannine was in hearing the story of 
Pompey the Great ! — how he cleared the Mediterranean 
Sea of the pirates that infested it in those days, trou- 
bling all the vessels that came along. In three months 
he had conquered them (and there were thousands), 
and compelled them to give up their ships ; and then he 

* Our friends the C.'s, who were spending the summer at Albano. 
5 



66 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

transported them to towns upon the land, where they 
might live respectably, or, at least, not trouble the seas 
any more. 

Pompey married the daughter of the great Julius 
Caesar, which kept those two distinguished men in 
harmony while she lived : but, after she died, they re- 
mained friends no longer ; for each wished to be master 
of Rome. After a long conflict, Pompey was defeated 
at the battle of Pharsalia, and afterwards sailed in a 
vessel to take refuge with the King of Egypt. After 
bidding adieu to his affectionate wife Cornelia (who was 
his last wife, and was on board the vessel with him), he 
entered a little boat which was to carry him from the 
vessel to the shore ; but upon reaching it, and being 
all ready to step upon the land, he was cruelly be- 
trayed and murdered. Although surprised as he was, 
he remained calm and dignified; just drawing his 
cloak about him, and making no resistance. There was 
no one to take care of his remains but a faithful freed- 
man, who had been his slave, but whom he had made 
free. He took them to his master's loving wife Corne- 
lia, who laid them in the tomb we have mentioned, 
and which she built for them, near the villa, in Albano, 
which Pompey had loved so well. 

During the week, we made several excursions to the 
towns and places in the vicinity. We spent a day at 



EXCURSIONS IN THE COUNTRY, 67 

Gensano; and there was the lovely Lake ISTemi ! a beau- 
tiful little lake ; so deep in the crater of a volcano (as 
it was once), that it looks like a little nest of water. 
The ancients called it the " Mirror of Diana," it was so 
pretty and sparkling ; and all the region round about 
was sacred to Diana. On the border of another lake 
(Albano) are the ruins of some baths called the "Baths 
of Diana." Some of the small stones of the old mosaic 
pavement are still preserved ; and, when we visited 
there, we picked up some to bring home with us : also 
pretty green maiden-hair grows all about the floor of 
the baths. 

The day we passed at Gensano we spent in a lovely 
villa on the very banks of this pretty lake, Diana's 
Looking-glass ; so that we could go through the gar- 
den walks, and stand right over its polished surface ; 
and, had we been as beautiful as Diana, we might have 
been pleased to look at ourselves in it as she did * As 
it was, we could think of nothing but the beautiful 
villa. How lovely it was with its garden, — an English 
garden, full of flowers, — and its beautiful white swans 
sailing in the pond ! These swans came and ate out 
of our hands. Then there was a pigeon-house filled 
with pigeons and doves, and a pretty English cottage, 
which seemed so like home, with its nice carpeted 
floors and furniture. The secret of it is, the place be- 

* See Fairies of our Garden. 



68 CHILD-LIFE IJST ITALY. 

longs to a duke who married an English lady ; and I 
suppose she likes to have these things after the English 
style. 

The duke and duchess live in the cottage in the 
winter ; but in the summer they remove to the great 
stone palace close by, which is cooler, and let the cot- 
tage to any one who likes to take it. Some friends of 
ours are occupying it this summer, which is the reason 
why we were there to pass the day. They have a 
sweet little girl, two years old, with golden, fairy-like 
curls, — so like a little niece I left at home in America, 
that I thought she was the prettiest little ornament of 
the cottage ; as indeed she was. They have a boy too, 
Thomas, eight or ten years of age; and, during the 
morning, the eldest son of the duke, a boy about the 
same age, with a sweet face, modest and pretty, came 
in to return a book, and get " Tom " to go and visit him 
a little while. The book he had been reading was 
Cooper's " Spy," in which he had been much interest- 
ed ; but he was to read " no more novels at present." 
The little duke has a younger brother, who is named 
George Washington ! . . . 

At another time we went to Castel Gandolfo, where 
the Pope spends the summer; and saw his cool-looking 
summer palace, with the avenues of trees that lead up 
to it. 

Another excursion was to a monastery, on the banks 



EXCURSIONS IN THE COUNTRY. 69 

of the Lake Albano, where the good fat monks came 
out to meet us, dressed in their brown gowns, with the 
hood hanging down behind. They showed us all 
around the garden, and pointed out the beautiful 
views ; for the monastery stands high, and overlooks a 
great extent of country. And then they took us into 
the great hall of the monastery ; and one went to a 
cupboard and brought out a flask of wine, and treated 
us with wine and water so politely ! We thanked the 
monks for their kindness, and took our leave of them ; 
and then, returning, what a pretty, pretty road it was 
on the border of the lake, with shrubs and bushes often 
meeting overhead ! and there was a beautiful sunset 
over the water. 

These excursions were made on donkeys, — the dear, 
good-for-nothing little fellows ! Nannine's donkey 
proved to be rather vicious ; for, in coming home, he 
threw her off. Then I changed with her ; and what 
should he do, the first thing, but throw me off too, as 
if he had been determined that no one should ride on 
his back! I would not try it again, but suffered him to 
go along by himself; and I walked the rest of the way, 
and reached home almost as soon as the others did : for 
the little lazy things do not go much faster than one 
can walk; and they will be stopping to get a nibble of 
grass as they go along, and sometimes you can hardly 
make them go at all. How amused you would be to 



70 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

see us each mounted and setting off, with a man or 
boy to almost every donkey, following behind, to drive 
him and keep him going ! for all that one can do with 
the reins and whip has but little effect. Then, if the 
donkey-boy should lag behind, your donkey will be 
sure to go off to the side of the road, and make quite 
a good meal of the mouthfuls of grass he snatches, as 
if it were the most proper thing in the world to be 
done. He never thinks that he has got to carry the 
rider on his back anywhere ; that never enters his 
mind : but he just takes his comfort as he goes leisurely 
along, unless the boy with a big stick reminds him 
that he has something else to do. 

But they are so trusty when you come to a steep, 
rocky place, and they put their steady little feet so ex- 
actly in the right spot, and take you so safely through 
a dangerous or difficult pathway, that you cannot help 
loving them, seeing how faithful they are. And then 
they are so intelligent ; always seeming to know just 
which path you are to take out of several diverging 
ones! We never could understand how it was that 
they always chose precisely the right one, when we 
could see no difference between one and another; 
and, when we asked the driver for an explanation 
of it, all he could say was, shrugging his shoulders, 
" They know ; they know ! " 



AUTUMN. 71 



CHAPTER VIII. 



AUTUMN. 



We all enjoyed our week in the country very much; 
yet it is pleasant to be in Rome again. There are so 
many interesting things to be seen, and we have had 
such a beautiful summer, with clear, bright, sunny 
weather, though exceedingly warm! We have kept 
ourselves comfortable by remaining in the house dur- 
ing the heat of the day, going out only very early in 
the morning, and towards sunset. 

From many of our windows we have only a country 
view, with no sight or sound of the city excepting the 
bells (which are ringing a great portion of the time), 
and the drums of the French soldiers on the Square in 
front of the house. All day long, in the many trees, 
the birds are as merry as they can be. 

None of us have been ill, — not even the children, 
with the exception of Gianina, who was very slightly 
so for a day or two. She took a little cold standing at 
the open window one morning, before she was dressed, 
to see the soldiers on the Square. All our friends in 
the country think they had better have staid in Rome 



72 CHILD-LIFE IJST ITALY. 

too. The Americans who have remained in the city, 
the artists, &c., are going to have a picnic soon at Lake 
Nemi ; but we do not go, as we have been there so 
recently. 

We may expect the " rains " in two or three weeks ; 
for in the latter part of summer, and beginning of au- 
tumn, there are usually a few weeks of rainy weather. 

Aug. 31. — The "rains" have come on. They last 
about two or three weeks at this time of the year, and 
are the breaking-up of the hot season. 

Sept. 10, Wednesday. — It is very clear, but cool 
enough, this morning and evening. We have had some 
very heavy rains of late. It never rains all day ; but 
the rain comes in showers. We always get our walk 
morning or evening. 

Last Monday was a grand festa of the Madonna, at 
which the Pope officiated, in the Church of Santa Maria 
del Popolo. So after breakfast, Nannine and I got 
ready, as usual, for our walk ; intending to go down to 
see the procession. There was so much blue sky, and 
the clouds were so light, we had given up the idea of 
its raining; but we had not reached the Capolecase 
(street) when a heavy peal of thunder brought some 
sprinkles, and we had but just stepped into the near- 
est portone (doorway) when the whole shower came 
down. We were forced to stay there half an hour, the 
street running with rivers. 



AUTUMN. 73 

When the shower was over, we stepped out from 
the portone to go in pursuit of a carriage in which to 
return home ; and at the same moment a hack stopped 
opposite the door, out of which jumped a priest and 
another gentleman ; and, as they very politely offered 
it for our accommodation, we were glad to accept it, 
and turned in it homeward. Thus ended our walk, 
and sight of the festa, for that time; but, towards 
evening, the children's mamma and I got a good walk 
on the Quirinal,* meeting throngs of people in their 
gala-dresses. 

This will give you an idea of the rainy season in 
Rome. Anywhere else I should not call it a rainy 
season, as there are intervals of two or three days, 
when there is no rain, not even showers. 

Oct. 8. — Our baby is just six months old, and is 
sitting alone to-day for the first time. She is a dear 
little thing, — good, fat, pleasant, pretty, sweet. But 
we can scarcely ever get her even for a little play, 
there are so many who want her, — the nurse and the 
other women, mamma and papa, and all. We did, 
however, succeed, Nannine and I, in giving her her first 
little lesson in sitting alone this morning; but over 
she rolled once or twice upon the carpet! 

We are going to make her so accomplished ! differ- 

* A street not far from our house, where the Pope has a palace, in 
which he lives a portion of the year. 



74 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

ent from the Roman babies, who, I think, hardly ever 
sit alone ; and they never creep. As soon as they are 
four or five months old, they have a string put round 
their waists, and are dangled along by it ; the points 
of their little toes just touching the ground. And, when 
their mothers wish to go away and leave them, they 
hang them, by the string, over the pommel of a chair, 
letting their feet just reach the floor! When they are 
large enough to bear their weight, they are placed 
standing in a little wicker-work frame, with a shelf for 
playthings; so that the poor little things never know 
the pleasure there is in creeping about upon all-fours! 
Almost before they are large enough, they are made to 
walk by means of leading-strings; so that their feet 
and ankles often become weak and bowed. Of course, 
these are the children whom one sees at all tines in the 
streets and doorways; but even those better cared for are 
not allowed to creep as children do in America. Our 
baby is going to creep like an English or American 
child ; and she is not going to be made to walk until 
she is strong enough, and takes to it all of herself! 

You would be amused to see how funnily the young 
babies here are wrapped up. They are all bound round 
with bandages, feet and all, exactly in the shape of a 
mummy, or like the Indian pappoose, until they are 
large enough to have the leading-strings, which is at 
three or four months old. When they are two or three 



AUTUMN. 75 

years old, they are put into school. Often do we pass 
some door where there is a school of these little chil- 
dren. It is just a room of the house, with small chairs 
placed around, where the children are seated, and kept 
quiet. As soon as they are able, they learn to knit and 
sew, and perhaps to read a little. The door of the 
room is always open, so that we can see the little 
things as we pass by; and they seem to be quietly 
kept there out of mischief, while their mothers are at 
work. . . . 

We have attended lately an exhibition of a girls' 
school kept by some French ladies. A young Italian 
girl whom we know, Carlotta, a neighbor of ours, be- 
longs to it. She and her family invited us to go : so 
Nannine, Gianina, and myself walked down with them, 
about three o'clock in the afternoon, and found our- 
selves the first visitors there ; but this only gave us the 
better chance to inspect the various articles of work- 
manship on a table, with the names and ages attached 
of the pupils who wrought them. It was really sur- 
prising, the quantity and quality of the work done by 
little creatures five, six, and seven years of age. And 
the more remarkable it seemed, when we saw these 
little butterfly-looking children, all dressed in the 
highest style of theatrical taste ; for the performance 
was scarcely any thing more or less than a little 
theatre. 



76 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

In the mean time, we and the household (consisting 
of several lady-teachers, French and Italian) under- 
took to make ourselves very agreeable to each other; 
and they were all charming, polite, and friendly, as 
all the ladies here are. Presently the room was 
completely filled with spectators, sitting one before 
another; and the little fancifully-dressed actors had 
taken their stations behind a curtain, which was sus- 
pended across one end of the room, and was un- 
drawn and drawn at the beginning and end of every 
performance. 

They began with little dialogues and recitations, 
just as is common at such exhibitions in America; but 
these were generally of a more dramatic character, and 
the little performers gesticulated and attitudinized ex- 
actly like grown persons who have been trained upon 
the stage. Then there were several fancy-dances, the 
Cracovienne, Salterella, &c, by one or two at a time ; 
two violinists being placed within the charmed circle. 

In the midst of it all, one of the youngest and most 
interesting of the children was dancing alone ; a little 
thing of four or five years. The audience were as still 
as mice, gazing intently; for the little girl was dancing 
in a sweet, child-like, graceful way : but, when the 
exercise was nearly finished, all at once her infantile 
but earnest little voice broke out with, " My shoe is 
coming off!" This, of course, brought her up sud- 



AUTUMN. 77 

denly all standing! Every one burst into laughter, 
it was so comical as well as sweet and pretty; but the 
poor little thing was quite abashed by it. She was so 
confused and distressed, that one of the teachers ran to 
her, kissed, and re-assured her ; but, although she did 
not cry aloud, the tears were starting from her little 
eyes as she went on with the most serious air to finish 
the dance. 

Then came more acting ; but, as it was getting late, 
we were forced to leave. We heard that they had 
a grand dance of all the children together in the even- 
ing ; and the bishop was there, and distributed presents 
to the best scholars. 



78 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



SECOND YEAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

WINTEK-TIME. 

Chbistmas, this year, was as beautiful as the last. 
But how fatigued we were, working for the tree ! and, 
although we made but a very few things, it took a 
good deal of time. Almost all the presents were pur- 
chased, however ; and only the children had them this 
year. We really enjoyed going into the shops for 
them, just to see the beautiful things ; for they were 
filled with elegant toys and knicknacks of every 
description. 

The tree was very prettily improved by having un- 
derneath (on the top of the box in which it stood) 
a little landscape arranged. Small stones for rocks; 
green moss for grass and trees ; pieces of looking-glass 
placed here and there for water ; little lakes and ponds, 
a little rustic bridge spanning them ; a little Swiss cot- 
tage, which, for size, was exactly in keeping ; and some 
of the small Swiss animals carved so beautifully in 
wood, — all looked quite natural; and the whole thing 



WINTER-TIME.. 79 

was quite a success. (This was the work of a dear 
friend of the children's mamma.) 

January. — Through December, the weather was 
cold. The ground froze at night, and ice remained on 
the sides of the streets for several hours in the day. 
Some of the fountains — among them ours in the gar- 
den — had long solid icicles hanging from them for a 
few days. But now, since January has come in, it is 
all spring-like, as balmy and exhilarating as possible, 
like the warm days of May in New England. The 
birds have been singing, too, for some days ; and Gia- 
nina has just brought up from the garden a sweet 
bunch of violets, so fresh and beautiful ! It is the chil- 
dren's delight to gather these : they are never tired of 
picking them, and making them up into lovely little 
bouquets. 

One of the children's real pleasures all this winter, 
during their morning's walk, has been to drop a penny 
or two into the hand of an old woman who sits on the 
steps of a church (San Paolo), as we pass. She sits 
there with her knitting, and looks quite brightened up 
in her expression since we have commenced our daily 
pensions. She looks so pleased always to see the chil- 
dren coming along, and has a kind grazie * to give 
them with a pleasant smile. At first, she was their pa- 
pa's pensioner.. As he passed by every day, he always 

* Thanks. 



80 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

gave her some pennies; and, when Nannine and Gia- 
nina began their walks in that direction, he told them 
they must not forget her. Near by is a lame old 
man who limps up and down with his cane, holding 
out his hat to the passers-by. He was so gentle and 
respectable-looking, we could not resist taking him also 
under our penny-patronage. About three weeks ago, 
we missed him; and the old woman told us he had 
been put into prison. How sorry we were for him! 
But, day before yesterday, we met him again in his ac- 
customed place ; and his poor old face was touchingly 
sad as he told us how they had put him in prison be- 
cause he begged in the streets. " Ma," said he, " che si 
puo fare? non aveva niente da mangiare!" ("But 
what can one do? I had nothing to eat!") Then with 
his blue eyes he looked up into the deep-blue sky, and 
in his earnest way begged the " blessings of Heaven " 
upon us. We frequently give him a five-cent. piece (a 
large copper coin), from which, mamma says, there is 
no doubt that he takes us for " princesses of the blood- 
royal," — it seems to him so much ! 

In another street, where we often pass, is a poor 
blind old woman, who sits upon the sidewalk, holding 
a little box, which she rattles when she hears the ap- 
proach of footsteps, begging for charity " for the love 
of the Madonna." She, too, is one of our pensioners. 

But it almost frightens the children to give any 



WINTER-TIME. 81 

thing to old Beppo, who stays upon the Spanish steps ; 
he moves about so queerly on his hands and knees, 
coming- up to one with such a boisterous air as he says, 
" Bon giorno, signorina ! " We are always very glad 
when we see him going off on his donkey before we 
get there ; for he always rides to and from his house in 
that manner, as he is a cripple, and cannot walk. We 
think he hardly suffers very much from poverty, as he 
has laid up several hundred dollars for his old age. 

How sad it makes one feel to see so many poor beg- 
gars about the streets ! If it were not for the mild, 
pleasant climate, they would suffer a great deal more 
than they do. But they look wretched and miserable 
enough, notwithstanding ; and yet a great deal is given 
in charity in Rome, and there are places where even 
the poorest can go and get a good bowl of soup every 
day without paying for it. 

After the Carnival, — which the children enjoyed 
very much this year, — and the long, quiet Lent, came 
all the interesting ceremonies of Holy Week at St. 
Peter's, commemorating incidents in the last days of 
our Saviour. One was the washing of the feet of the 
twelve apostles by the Pope. 

A place in the church was arranged for the priests, 
who were to represent the apostles ; and they were all 
seated in a row. Before the Pope entered, two gentle- 
men in common dress went, untying the shoes of each, 

6 



82 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

that they might be in readiness. Then came the Pope, 
wearing a handsome dress of white and gold brocade, 
and attended by several cardinals. I think one of 
these tied a white apron round the Pope. 

One cardinal held a large silver basin of water, and 
another held the towel ; each presenting them in turn 
to the Pope when he was ready for them. To each 
priest (or apostle), after his feet had been washed, and 
dried with the towel, a handsome bouquet of flowers 
was presented. 

Afterwards the same twelve men went to another 
hall, where they were seated at a table, and were 
waited upon by the Pope, to represent the Last Sup- 
per of our Lord. A handsome table is spread; and 
upon it, before each priest, stands a pretty little gilt 
figure, about eighteen inches high, of the apostle he 
represents, with a large bouquet of flowers by the side 
of it. There was real food, and a roll of bread, at each 
plate ; and the Pope went up and down the table, — 
they were all seated on one side, and he stood on the 
other, — passing to each of them, in turn, the different 
dishes and some wine. 

"They really ate and drank!" exclaimed a young 
Roman girl near us, who was very much delighted at 
the show. 

All the Romans standing around appeared very 
much interested ; for the Pope is their monarch as a 



WINTER-TIME. 83 

king is in other countries; and, of course, it was a 
great occasion, — his performing these ceremonies. 

In the Sis tine Chapel * is performed, two or three 
times during Holy Week, the celebrated music of the 
Misereres. A Miserere is music composed for such 
occasions, very affecting and sublime. It is the last 
piece which is sung on Good Friday (and the other 
days) : before it, they have other music, — the 
psalms, &c. 

During the singing of the psalms, several lighted 
candles are arranged on the altar, in the form of a 
pyramid ; and, at the end of every psalm, one of them 
is put out, until they come to the last, which is only 
taken away, not extinguished, to signify, that, when our 
Saviour was crucified, the light which he brought into 
the world was not extinguished at his crucifixion, but 
only hidden away for a little time, to appear again. 

One of the most interesting scenes during Holy 
Week is at the Hospital for the Pilgrims. The pil- 
grims are those who come on foot from a great dis- 
tance to Rome to join in the services of Holy Week. 
They are received and taken care of at the hospital 
for three days; and, when they leave, they are presented 
with a bundle of provisions and a little money. But 

* This chapel is in the palace of the Vatican, where the Pope 
resides. 



84 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

our interest in the scene consisted in seeing the poor 
pilgrims come in and have their feet washed, and then 
have a good supper and beds provided for them. 

From the long, long journey they had taken, — for, 
to be a pilgrim, one must come a distance of sixty 
miles, — they were weary, soiled, and dusty; and it was 
a delightful sight, when we entered the rooms, to see 
the long tables arranged for an excellent supper to 
refresh them. Young ladies and matrons, all with dark 
dresses and red aprons, — the uniform that they wear, 
and so pretty! — were busy in preparing the tables 
with bread and excellent salad, and getting things 
ready in general; great baskets of provisions being 
brought in, and placed upon the tables. With that 
completed, and the pilgrims assembled one after an- 
other, they were taken to a lower room, and seated on 
a long bench which went all round the walls. The 
ladies were there also. Then came a priest, and read 
prayers for a few minutes; and a little tub of warm 
water and soap was placed before each poor tired 
woman (for there were only women in the part we 
visited: in another hall were male pilgrims, waited 
upon in the same manner by gentlemen). The sandals 
and stockings were untied and taken off; and before 
each one a lady kneeled, and bathed and rubbed her 
feet, until, no doubt, they were very clean and nice, 
and " shone again ! " I wondered if they had ever had 



WINTER-TIME. 85 

so good a bathing before ! We were sure it must have 
made them very comfortable and happy, for the time 
at least ; for what could have been so refreshing, after 
their long weary day's journey? 

After this ceremony was over, they were marshalled 
back again into the great hall, and seated at the tables ; 
and then, in addition to the rest of the supper, was 
brought a bowl of hot soup for each one; and the 
same ladies waited on them as before, so graciously 
and kindly ! 

The provisions that remained after they were satis- 
fied they bundled up in their handkerchiefs, and took 
away with them. Then came the going to bed ; but 
this seemed to us all hubbub and confusion. I dare 
say that the most of them never slept in such good 
beds and nice rooms before ; for they appeared not to 
know what to do. They would go into one room, and 
turn, and come out and try another. We came away 
in the midst of it, for it was growing late ; and whether 
they had a good night's sleep or not, we never knew. 

At St. Peter's, the great splendid show is on Easter 
Day, when the Pope enters the church, as at Christmas, 
in a chair raised on men's shoulders, with the great fans 
carried on each side of him ; extending his hands, and 
blessing the people, as he moves along. What a long 
procession of cardinals and bishops and priests in their 
red and white and purple dresses ; and monks, chanting 



86 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

as they pass along ; and files of soldiers in handsome 
uniforms ; and the Swiss guard with armor on, who 
stand firm and irresistible to keep the line open for the 
procession ! . 

The ladies have seats arranged expressly for them on 
each side of the church or of the high altar, where 
they can see well the elegant show. Many foreign 
ladies are there,— -forestiere as the Italians call them, 
— English, French, Americans, &c. ; but all of them 
have to wear a black dress, and a black veil instead of a 
bonnet on their head. This they always do whenever 
the Pope officiates. 

The Pope himself at the altar, assisted by cardinals, 
performs high mass. The choir for the singers is near, 
and the music is beautiful. When all is over, the Pope 
is carried out again through the church, and goes to a 
balcony outside, over the front portico, that he may 
bless the people. Then the immense crowd that had 
entered the church comes pouring out to stand upon 
the steps, and on the great Square in front, to receive 
the benediction ; and thousands of others perhaps 
come up who have not been in the church, and whole 
regiments of soldiers in their uniform, — some of them 
mounted on horses, — until the whole Place, or Square, 
is filled. Then the "Holy Father," as the Roman Cath- 
olics call his holiness the Pope, spreads his hands, and 
with a loud voice pronounces the benediction, with the 



WINTER-TIME. 87 

people and soldiers kneeling while he speaks. It is a 
very imposing sight to see so many thousands of per- 
sons kneeling to receive a blessing. 

When this is over, and the crowd has begun to dis- 
perse, there is still another great show, — that of the 
carriages drawn up to receive their occupants. These 
belong to the nobility and the distinguished persons 
about the court. They are so handsome with their 
showy colors, and the horses also with their gilt 
trimmings, and there are so many of them, that they 
make all together a beautiful array. When they have 
passed, the private carriages and hacks draw up to take 
in their people : and there are so many of them too, 
they become entangled and obstructed in the crowd, 
so that it is sometimes an hour or more before one can 
move on; and, when they get started at last, it is like 
an immense procession going through the streets. 

You will think I am never coming to an end of the 
Easter festivities ; but there is another, so beautiful, it 
would be like a fairy-scene were it not on so large and 
grand a scale. This is the illumination of St. Peter's, 
which takes place on the same evening of the benedic- 
tion, after that ceremony. 

This is almost too wonderful to be described ; for the 
whole outside of the church, from the top of the dome 
to the ground, is all covered with light, soft, sparkling, 
golden light. But first it was a silver light, and that 



88 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

changed instantaneously to the golden. It looks, as 
you draw near, as if it were studded with jewels ar- 
ranged in beautiful forms; and these sparkle there 
half the night, even after people have gone to bed, 
until they vanish of themselves one by one, as the oil 
in the little pans which hold the wicks becomes con- 
sumed. 

To wind up all, on the next evening (Monday) there 
were magnificent fire-works; so magnificent, that I 
can scarcely begin to describe them to you. There 
were splendid " serpents " and " pigeons," and " para- 
chutes " and " bouquets," and a golden water-fall, and 
an illuminated temple, and a landscape all glowing 
with crimson light, and many other things; and, at 
the end, such an immense number of rockets went up 
all together, and came down in such showers of splen- 
did-colored stars, that the whole heavens were cov- 
ered with them. 

These pieces all went off in so quick succession, 
with real cannon firing rapidly all the time, that it was 
almost terrific. When little cousin Lulu was here the 
year before, and was taken to . see the fire-works, or 
girandole as they are called in Rome, she was afraid 
to look at them, and hid her face away ; but she was 
so very little a girl then. 



SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 89 



CHAPTER II. 

SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 

In May, we spent a day at Tivoli among the Sa- 
bine Hills ; those hills whence came Numa Pompilius, 
the wise, good king, who reigned in Rome when it was 
only an infant city, — the next king to Romulus, — 
who was loath to leave the country scenes where 
he dwelt to come and be the king of a busy city; 
and to whom the goddess Egeria showed herself so 
friendly and kind; for so the story is of those old 
times.* 

The views among these hills are charming; nay, 
exceedingly beautiful. Elevated so high, you look 
over the Campagna, which is spread out like a plain, 
and see the " yellow Tiber " winding around ; but it 
looks silvery from among these hills. 

Going up the ascent to Tivoli, — for it is situated on 
the brow of a hill, — what groves of olive-trees we 
passed! — the strong, sturdy-looking olive-tree, homely 
enough, but is very useful, yielding from its fruit all 
the oil used here. Even the streets are lighted with 

* See the companion volume, — Fairies of our Garden: Roman Stones. 



90 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the soft, pretty, mellow light of olive-oil. On the top 
of the hill are the remains of a temple with graceful 
pillars, which the ancients themselves built, and dedi- 
cated to one of their deities. And in this town, too, 
in its best days, lived sometimes a Roman emperor in 
a splendid villa; for Tivoli, even older than Rome 
itself, was then a favorite place of resort. Yes, the 
dark-looking houses as you passed them, with the doors 
wide open, looked as if there were nothing but the 
doors to light them ; just, I suppose, as they were built 
in those ancient times, when glass windows were not 
known. 

Our day was delightful. I do not know whether we 
most enjoyed walking in a beautiful villa with grand 
old cypress-trees, and where the children ran up and 
down the avenues, — the villa where the celebrated 
poet Tasso had often visited his " lady-love," to whom, 
or to whose family, it belonged, — or seeing the falls, 
one of the great sights of Tivoli. They are beautiful 
cascades, falling so gently in such delicate white foam 
over the rocks, that they are very graceful. The chil- 
dren enjoyed greatly the circuit of three or four miles 
we made, on donkeys, to have all the views of them. 

Even little Memie was with us, and was carried on 
a donkey, in the nurse's lap. How afraid her mamma 
was, at a certain steep place, that the nurse would let 
her suddenly fall ! The baby is now more than a year 



SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 91 

old. She learned to creep all in due time, and was as 
cunning as a little kitten, going about on all-fours. 
Then she began to walk by chairs; and now goes 
tottling about, very much to her amusement and 
ours. . . . 

The great excursion we made this summer was in 
June, — several days at Frescati, a town among the 
Alban Hills, not far from Albano. 

What a pleasure it was, from one height after an- 
other, as we ascended the mountains, to see the splen- 
did views all around ; and the trees, the groves, the 
woods, all so richly green ; and the many beautiful 
villas to which we made excursions, especially the 
Villa Conti, not far from the hotel, where we went 
every day with the children to enjoy the cool shade 
in the noble avenues ! And the dear little donkeys we 
enjoyed more than ever. How true they were in go- 
ing down a steep or rocky place ! never making a mis- 
step, or stumbling over a stone, or doing any such 
naughty thing. Where there was any danger, no man 
could be more mindful or careful. But indeed we must 
confess that they paid themselves for it, in a smooth, 
grassy pathway, by doing pretty much as they pleased; 
never trotting, or thinking of such a thing, but when 
they were made to : on the contrary, turning out on 
the side of the road, and comfortably snatching a 
mouthful of grass whenever they fancied ! Neverthe- 



92 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

less, we enjoyed it for all that; it is such a quiet, 
pleasant way of sauntering through the woods : you 
have plenty of time to see every thing that comes in 
the way as you go along, — the flowers, the nuts, the 
squirrels, or whatever else there may be. 

One of the places which we visited was Tusculum, 
perched on the summit of a high hill, where the patriot 
Cicero had a favorite villa. There he spent much of 
his time in study, and in receiving visits from his 
friends. Here also, at Tusculum, was born another 
of the patriots of ancient times, the celebrated Cato 
the Censor, who, when he was a young man, was in 
the war against Hannibal. Afterwards, when he had 
been to Carthage, the city of Hannibal, and had 
brought some figs from there, he took them with him 
into "the senate-house at Rome, under his cloak, to 
show to the other senators. He had been surprised 
to find the city of Carthage still prosperous after it 
had suffered very much from war ; and, for fear that 
it might yet become a very powerful enemy, he ended 
all his speeches after that with this remark, " I am of 
the opinion that Carthage must be destroyed." 

Cato was a stern old patriot. He could not bear 
that even the ladies should dress in any kind of luxu- 
ry ; and he had great influence in keeping the country 
from falling into extravagances and follies. He was 
born poor and unknown ; but by his great honesty, and 



SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 93 

uprightness, and fine eloquence, — for he had improved 
his talents by study, — and by his ardent patriotism, 
he came to receive, one by one, the highest honors of 
the State. Rome was then a republic ; and all who 
showed themselves capable and worthy could make 
their way as well as with us in America, It is now 
more than eighteen hundred years since Cato the Cen- 
sor first wandered about in Tusculum, a poor boy, 
perhaps bare-footed ; but his memory still remains in 
history. The hills, the rocks, the sky over all, are, of 
course, the same that they were then, and must, in 
general, look as they did at that time, when Carthage 
and Rome were great and prosperous cities, and Tus- 
culum was a pleasant place of resort, and Cato, and 
afterwards Cicero, lived there. The town is now de- 
serted, and there are scarcely any ruins even left to tell 
what it was. But there is a little theatre partly re- 
maining, with the seats all around, where actually the 
ancients sat, and saw plays performed ; and, on those 
very same seats, we also sat for a little while. 

On one of our excursions, we passed over the plain, 
or field, where, it is said that Hannibal encamped when 
he came to besiege Rome with his African soldiers. 
Of course, it was very interesting to think he might 
have been there; but it is not quite certain if he 
was. 



94 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

June 28. — We are back again in Rome. . . . 

Our garden is lovely this year. It has been all re- 
made ; at least new beds and flowers have been planted, 
and a gardener is constantly employed. It is in full 
bloom. The tall oleander-trees are very handsome 
with their rich red blossoms ; and all the other flowers 
— particularly the larkspur, pink, white, and blue, all 
mingled together — are beautiful and in profusion. 

Last spring, the children's mamma and I had great 
ideas of working ourselves in the garden, and having 
little beds of strawberries, &c, to take care of. But it 
never amounted to much : for it is warm in this climate 
to work out of doors ; that is, for those who are not used 
to it. But the poor women who are obliged to labor 
do work in the gardens and vineyards almost all day. 
We frequently hear them singing at their work. The 
children, of course, are delighted always to have their 
little shovels and hoes, and to dig here and there. 
Many a hole in the ground do they make for a well, 
and pile up earth for little mounds, &c., when we go 
into the garden in the afternoons. 

One of the pleasures of their nurse Pina is to take 
them into the villa to hunt for snails; for the Italians 
make a little dish of them to eat. But it does not re- 
quire much searching. At some seasons, the stems of 
some shrubs and plants are perfectly covered with them. 
Their shells are as large as a hickory-nut, and some- 



SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 95 

times as a good large walnut. When we go into the 
avenues early in the morning, it is often quite an 
amusement to trace out on the ground the little path- 
ways which they have made during the night, where 
they cross from one side of the avenue to the other. 
These have been made at least since the evening be- 
fore : it may be that they creep out very early in the 
morning and make them. They are pretty little distinct 
tracks just grooved in the soft earth. They might be a 
winding road for a fairy, if the fairies ever deigned to 
walk upon the ground. 

These little animals go along pretty slowly, snail- 
like, to be sure ; and we often find them just on "their 
way, with their big round house on their back. 

July 5. — In our walk this morning, Nannine had 
an initiatory lesson in American history ; the day, or 
rather yesterday, suggesting it : but, that being Sun- 
day, we presume that the celebration goes on to-day. 
It was an account of the grand festival in Boston and 
in all our cities, — the ringing of the bells, and firing 
of cannon, and the fire-crackers of the boys, and the 
pretty floral processions in the streets, and the singing 
of the children of the public schools ; the stalls and 
booths around the Common filled with cakes and pies 
and all sorts of fruits, and lemonade, which booths are 
begun to be put up in the middle of the night before, 
with the noisy sound of the hammer ; and the thou- 



96 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

sands and thousands of people from the country, who 
come into the city to spend the holiday; and all 
winding up with the fire-works in the evening. From 
this beginning, tannine went on to comprehend very 
well the origin of the celebration. She has arrived at 
last to the pleasure of commencing history in this 
way. She is not yet old enough to study it much from 
books; but, though fairy stories make her principal 
reading at present, she is very fond of real knowledge, 
and is never tired of hearing whatever one will tell 
her. 

This summer, Nannine went with me to walk very 
early in the mornings ; often taking our breakfast with 
us, and going to the Pincio, and sitting upon the fresh 
grass, and eating it there. It improved Nannine very 
much, making her look rosy and healthy ; for, although 
she was well, she had begun to look rather pale and 
delicate during the hot weather. — I have said nothing 
as yet about the Pincio. This was a lovely place, where 
we often went to walk. It is a grand promenade, where 
children go with their nurses, and ladies and gentlemen 
to walk and drive. It is very beautiful, with trees and 
flowers; and there are pretty little nooks to go into, — 
plats or lawns of green grass, hedged round with 
trees. 

But, at the early hour in the morning at which we 



SUMMER EXCURSIONS. 97 

went this summer, it was very quiet; and often we 
met no one but parties of school-boys sitting about, 
laughing and chatting. These school-boys always look 
like little gentlemen, — they behave so well, and wear 
beaver-hats exactly like men's. 

One of the great pleasures of going out so early was 
meeting the pretty flocks of goats which are brought 
into the city in the mornings, and driven round from 
house to house to give milk. The man who keeps 
them takes the tumbler, or little pail, or dipper, that is 
given to him, and milks right into it there in the 
street. 

And how often in our various walks have we met 
great flocks of creatures ! — sometimes beautiful lambs, 
white or black ; sometimes they are little pigs, looking 
so pretty; sometimes turkeys. I suppose there are hun- 
dreds of turkeys in a flock. 

These long summer afternoons, when it was too 
warm to go out, and our friends were all gone into the 
country, and we were left quiet to ourselves, how 
much we enjoyed — we grown ones — reading aloud 
to each other some of the many useful or pleasurable 
books we had long wanted to read ! And the children 
had their time unmolested in playing dolls. Did ever 
children have such a happy, uninterrupted play-time ? 
And did they not enjoy it to the full? acting as if 

7 



98 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY, 

their dolls were real live persons and companions! 
They were laughable enough, — some of the comical 
things they would do and say about them. 

Their aunt, little Lulu's mamma, sent each of them 
from America, after her return, an elegant China doll, 
with little trunks of clothes, all beautifully made; 
with every article of dress, even to the little shoes and 
stockings, and a pretty mantilla and hat : so that after 
this, whenever they went to walk, they depended upon 
having their dolls with them. 

Once or twice a week, we drove out several miles 
upon the Campagna, — often the dolls with us, — 
which kept us all very healthy and well. 



DAILY WALKS. 99 



CHAPTER III. 



DAILY WALKS. 



(The following diary of nearly a week — as far as 
Nov. 7 — was originally written in Italian, and is 
now translated — slightly enlarged, where explanation 
seemed to be needed — as a specimen of our customary 
or frequent daily walks.) 

October, Saturday. — This morning I proposed to 
take the children and the maid Lolla to the Piazza 
Navona to see a collection of wild animals ; for none 
of them had ever seen any. Memie, the dear baby, 
heard us talking of dressing in order to be ready, and 
wanted to be dressed to go too. She was so bewitch- 
ing, so cunning and earnest, that it was not possible to 
refuse her : so nurse took her, and came with us. We 
had gone as far as the Spanish Place to take a carriage 
there, when Josef (our servant) fell in with us, and 
went also. Thus there we were, almost the whole 
family, entering the tent of the menagerie ! 

There was a great ostrich, ugly enough; a young 
hyena, but looking very savage ; a fine wolf, very fat ; a 



100 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

kangaroo, with an appearance so gentle, and color of 
a beautiful brown, that it is really a beautiful animal. 
The American and African monkeys were numerous, 
and did as monkeys always do, delighting to take 
whatever one throws at them, and making a spring 
sometimes that frightened poor little Memie, and, I 
think, her nurse too. The rest of us stood them very 
well, and also the enormous snakes, such as the boa- 
constrictor, — very easily too ; for they were in a half 
torpid state, and could have done us no j)ossible harm. 

What astonished us much was the brilliant plu- 
mage of several birds of the parrot kind, — papagalli, 
as they call them in Rome. The splendor and richness 
of the coloring, the red, green, yellow, and blue, were 
surprising. . . . When the children were sufficiently 
amused, we took a turn around the Square to see the 
various things spread out ; for it is a market-place on 
certain days, and this was one. All sorts of cloths 
and merchandise are laid on counters set up in the 
open street. Then we passed on a little farther, and 
stopped at a place where a lottery was being drawn. 
Some of our party (the servants) had taken tickets, 
and were interested in the drawing, which was going 
on at that very moment. And really, true enough, 
a pair of ear-rings fell to the share of Lolla's (the 
maid's) mother, who is our cook ! 

The drawing of the lottery is a curious sight. 



DAILY WALKS. 101 

Those who have charge of it stand in a high balcony, 
outside the window of a house, where the whole crowd 
in the street below can look up at them; and a boy 
turns round and round, by a handle, a cylindrical ma- 
chine, calling out the numbers at the same time ; and 
then the article is given out. It is so arranged, that I 
believe almost every one has something, if it is ever so 
little. In truth, it is much like the scrambling-bags at 
the fairs in America, and for the same purpose, — to 
obtain money. 

But they are bad, we think, for the poor people, mak- 
ing them spend, little by little, a great -deal of money, 
which, if saved, might come to a nice little sum. But 
they are willing to risk something for the chance of get- 
ting a great sum, which falls once in a while, perhaps, 
to a poor man. . . . Oh ! we often think how we should 
like to see them, instead, laying away their ten-cent 
pieces and their five cents in a good savings bank, as 
the Irish Catholics do in America. But no : they seem 
to be fascinated in seeing what they will get from the 
lottery. . . . Neither have they such saving institu- 
tions here, I suppose, for the poor ; and so they have 
not the encouragement. 

Monday. — My birthday. Nannine has been fre- 
quently asking me to-day if I was " having a pleasant 
and happy birthday." The dear children tried this 
morning to make it very pleasant by giving me a little 



102 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

present, — Nannine a pair of sweet little carnelian 
glove-buttons, and Gianina a pretty little red carne- 
lian hammer to put on the chain of my watch. And 
their mamma, as a pleasant thing, proposed, instead of 
a drive, as she had thought of, a walk to the Russian 
Villa, where we had never been. So she, Nannine, 
and I, equipped ourselves, and went. It is a charming 
place ; a little woody scene. It is intersected by the 
grand and beautiful arches of one of the old aqueducts 
which were built hundreds or almost thousands of 
years ago, and of which there are so many beautiful 
ruins on the Campagna. The walls of this one were 
covered with ivy and rose-bushes and trees. There 
are quantities and quantities of the acanthus in the 
villa, — that plant which is so famed for its graceful 
manner of growth, that it is copied in sculpture. 
There were bright yellow or yellowish leaves of the 
oak-tree, and brilliant red leaves of the sumach, which 
were turned by the autumn air, and of which we 
brought home a great many. 

We called this the " Russian Villa," only because a 
Russian lady lived there. We had a delightful walk 
and a whole "pleasant" day. 

Tuesday. — We went to another beautiful villa near 
the last, the Altieri Villa, where there is a curious 
labyrinth winding round and round, made by a hedge 
of shrubs. In the centre is a pine-tree, splendidly tall 



DAILY WALKS. 103 

and large. There is a gate at the entrance of the laby- 
rinth ; and after you go in, you wind round in a curious 
and intricate way until you come to the pine-tree, if 
you can. But it is the easiest thing in the world 
to become perplexed and confused, and not able to 
reach the tree, nor to find your way out again if you 
did. 

But, behold ! the gate was locked when we wished to 
go in ; and so we could have no adventures. 

Thursday. — Our walk to-day was in the Villa Tor- 
Ionia, within the city walls, on the side of the Porta 
Pia. The Duke Torlonia, who owns the place, had 
often invited the children's mamma to take us all 
there to walk; but this was the first time she had 
taken advantage of the invitation. We were all ready, 
— mamma, the children, and myself, — and were just 
coming out of the door, when our good friend from 
America, Mr. D., came up. He had come to the house 
with the intention of amusing himself with the chil- 
dren, in the garden : and he turned, and went with us. 
Arrived at the gate of the villa, we rang the bell. 

After a long time, a servant came ; and, mamma's card 
being taken in, the gardener showed us all the novel- 
ties of the place. It is a very beautiful villa. There 
are two long avenues of ilex-trees, which meet over- 
head, forming a beautiful arch. At the end of these is 
a pretty columbarium full of beautiful pigeons. 



104 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

There are especially many winding paths, and here 
and there flowers and handsome trees. In one place 
is a small, round lake, in the centre of which rises an 
immense water-lily. I had never seen a water-plant so 
large, with leaves so beautiful and elegant, and of such 
a size. 

In front of the house, the ground is planted in little 
circles of flowers, which have a pretty effect. There 
was a palm-tree, graceful at the top ; but the stem was 
wrapped round with straw to protect it from the cold 
of the coming winter. 

We all had a charming time, the children running 
up and down the long avenues ; and Mr. D. enjoyed it 
as much as any of us. . . . 

In this fine splendid weather of October, we go 
about a great deal among the villas, of which 
there are so many in Rome, all of them beautiful 
places. . . . 

Nov. 7. — We have had a delightful afternoon on 
the Campagna, going out of the Via Salara Gate. 

The Campagna there is exquisitely beautiful, with 
soft, lovely views of smooth meadows and elegantly 
curved or sloping velvety covered little hills, coming 
here and there into the plains. 

Mr. and Mrs. S w, and their sweet daughters, were 

with us in another carriage. Leaving the carriages 
in the road, about five miles from the city, we rambled 



DAILY WALKS. 105 

over the fields and hilly slopes, to the great delight of 
the children and every one. We stopped a while, in 
the midst of a great flock of two or three hundred 
sheep, to look at the pretty white lambs; the shepherd, 
with his sheep-skin jacket on, and leaning on his crook, 
laughing very good-naturedly at our enjoyment. 

Oh! how many times, in driving out, have we 
stopped and enjoyed the sight of these pretty crea- 
tures, and have seen them driven and gathered into 
their folds by the shepherds ; and the great shepherd- 
dog so faithful, following round with his master, taking 
such good care of the flocks ! No one dares to en- 
croach upon them if he is near. The great herds, 
too, of noble, splendid-looking, gray cows and oxen, 
we never cease to look at with delight, *they are so 
royally grand. 

When we get out upon the Campagna, and leave the 
carriage in the road, and go off to search for or to ex- 
amine some ruin, or to gather daisies and wild-flowers 
in the fields, the children and all of us feel just as rural 
as the animals themselves ; and we seldom finish with- 
out a frolicsome run up and down the sloping banks and 
little acclivities. The perfect freedom, and the great 
space all around, and the fine air, make it very inspiring 
and invigorating ; and we draw in such long breaths of 
health at every step, and every nerve is so filled with 
this simple, open-air, country pleasure, that it is very 



106 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

delightful, and keeps us well month after month ; for 
we are as well, or even better than some of those who 
went away from the city in the summer for health. 

Saturday, we made a little picnic for the children in 
the Villa Borghese. Besides our children, there were 

Mrs. S.'s and Mrs. G.'s ; and Mr. and Mrs. S w 

joined us afterwards with theirs. 

This is a splendid villa, with great parks and ave- 
nues; and we had games, — hide-and-seek, puss-in- 
the-corner, playing ball, and so forth. But what 
pleased the children very much was seeing the avia- 
ries, — pretty places formed of lattice - work, where 
were beautiful birds. And some pretty deer too, that 
were in the parks, or enclosures, interested us very 
much. There were some lovely fawns, pretty little 
creatures ; but they kept mostly among the trees and 
hedges, and would not stay very long for us to look at 
them. 



GOING TO THE OPERA. 107 



THIRD YEAR. 



CHAPTER L 

GOING TO THE OPERA. 

Our Christmas festival this year was a dinner-party 
of ladies and gentlemen. But each lady, to her sur- 
prise, found on her plate, beside a bouquet of flowers, 
a handsome bo?ibonniere. As the day we — their 
mamma and myself- — happened to be out selecting 
them was the birthday of the little niece in America 
with the " golden, fairy-like curls," * in hearing about 
whom the children were much interested, and with 
whom they had become much acquainted by frequent 
allusions in letters, &c, from home, their mamma chose 
for me a pretty one, — a large ball striped with hand- 
some colored velvets, hollow, and filled, of course, with 
sugar-plums, — that I might send it to her. 

A friend of ours in Rome, who went to America 
last summer on a visit, spent a day at the house where 
little Anna was (for that was her name ; she was 

* See page 68. 



108 CHILD-LIFE m ITALY. 

visiting at her grandpapa's then), and very kindly drew 
a picture of her for me. This she brought with her 
when she returned to Rome; and at Christmas the 
children's mamma took it, and had it framed, all se- 
cretly for a surprise; and it is very sweet! It is 
hung up in our room ; and Nannine often looks at it, 
and says, "I like that picture of little Anna, it is such a 
pretty picture ! " She and Gianina take an immense 
deal of interest and delight in hearing about her. 

On New Year's the children had a holiday, which 
was always a great treat to them ; for, although their 
lessons have not been much mentioned, they studied 
regularly in the forenoons. Gianina, was now old 
enough to have lessons. She began when she was 
four, and was now past five ; and Nannine was seven. 
It was only once in a while that they had a whole long 
day of play or amusement, or perhaps two or three days, 
or a week, at Christmas or so; but generally every day, 
through all the weeks and months, summer as well as 
winter, they were occupied in the mornings studying, 
and made good progress. Nannine had got on so well 
in French, which she began the year before, that if we 
went to Switzerland the next summer, as was talked 
of, and where it would be needed, we thought she 
would be able to use it very well. 

When Gianina was five, she began to read Italian ; 
and she learned it very easily, because she already 



GOING TO THE OPERA. 109 

spoke it. It was her first language; therefore she un- 
derstood it perfectly. She had not learned to speak 
English until she went to America on a visit, when 
she was about two years old ; but, by the time she was 
three, she could speak it very well. 

She could also now read English very nicely. 

This year w T e had no balcony at the Carnival ; and, 
although we were invited to some of our friends' bal- 
conies, we seldom went ; for it was very rainy weather. 
I think there was but one pleasant day. But the great 
event to the children was going to the opera on the last 
day of the Carnival ; for they had never been. It was 
in the daytime, and was given purposely for children. 

In the morning, it rained tremendously. Once in a 
while, there was the least peeping out of the sun; but, 
nevertheless, it was a stormy time. It made but little 
difference to us, however, as we were to ride to the 
opera. So at half-past nine we were off, — the two 
children, their mamma, and myself; and we called for 
Mrs. F., the lady who sketched little Anna's picture, 
to go with us. There had been a great time in 
getting boxes ; for on the last day it is always very 
crowded : but, through the intervention of an Italian 
gentleman, a very nice one had been obtained for our- 
selves, and some for other friends. So, arriving there 
before the time to commence, there was a great visit- 



110 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

ing back and forth in the boxes, which happened to 
be all near together. 

The house was entirely filled, and made a brilliant 
show. There were many children, some in costumes : 
ours had only pretty wreaths of real roses around their 
heads, which made them look very lovely. The opera 
was " II Trovatore," or " The Troubadour," in which 
there are many beautiful scenes. 

The Troubadour is the son, or supposed son, of a 
Gypsy mother, who in reality, by mistake, sacrificed 
her own child, when an infant, instead of this one. 
But neither he nor any one else knows it ; and she 
clings to him always with great affection. There are 
some Gypsy scenes which are very picturesque ; groups 
of Gypsies sitting around, and some of them striking a 
chorus on an anvil. 

The Troubadour falls in love with a lady, and she 
returns it : but, at the same time, another person loves 
her, — a- count ; and when the Troubadour and the lady 
are in their bridal dresses, all ready to be married, the 
count comes, and prevents the ceremony ; and they are 
separated. 

The Gypsy in the mean time is taken prisoner in the 
belief of her having made depredations on the neigh- 
boring estates; and the son, the Troubadour, also is 
imprisoned. Then there is a beautiful but mourn- 
ful scene, — monks in their brown gowns and hoods 



GOING TO THE OPERA. Ill 

appear, singing a dirge for the souls that are con- 
demned to death ; and Leonora, the lady-love, listens 
to them with great distress, knowing that her lover is 
one of the condemned ones. Presently, from the tower 
in which he is imprisoned, she hears him singing, ac- 
companied by his guitar, an adieu to her. This touch- 
ing song and her singing were rapturously applauded 
and encored. "Bis, bis!" ("Again, again!") were re- 
peated a hundred times; and at last he came down from 
the tower, and made his appearance in front of the 
stage ; but he would not repeat the song. Three or four 
armfids of bouquets were thrown to the lady. She 
picked them every one up, but was obliged to go off 
the stage three or four times to deposit them. 

It was nearly three o'clock when we were ready to 
leave ; and, coming home, we had a glimpse of the 
Carnival people in the Corso. They looked very gay 
in their fantastic dresses; but the rain was pouring 
down, and they must have had a dismal time of it. 
I do not know how the moccholetti went on during 
the evening; but it may not have rained just at 
that hour, otherwise they must have all been put 
out, nolens volens. 

And now began the quiet Lent, when nearly all the 
strangers or visitors went away to Naples, and came 
back again at Holy Week. 



112 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

On Easter morning, this year, when we came in to 
breakfast, how bright and beautiful the table looked, 
strewed all over with flowers, as is the custom of the 
Italians ! The table-cloth was a carpet of flowers. 
Josef, our good servant, was so pleased to see us 
pleased! for it was his work. Then presently was 
brought on a great plate of hot cross-buns and eggs 
and ham, and what not, — a regular Easter breakfast. 

After breakfast, we, the family, went to our little 
quiet English church, and enjoyed the services there, 
while all the grand ceremonies were going on at St. 
Peter's. 



CHILDBEN'S LETTERS. 113 



CHAPTER II. 

children's letters, 

This season the children had received letters from 
little Anna's grandpapa in America, who was much 
interested in them, and whom they liked much to hear 
about, although they had never seen him. When 
Gianina was quite a little thing, about four years old, 
she gave me one day a little blue-ribbon bow that she 
had been playing with, — it was a lady's bow, that 
she happened to have among her playthings, — and 
wished me to send it to him. I sent it when there 
was an opportunity, and this was the description given 
of Gianina: "The little girl is an interesting little 
thing, a regular picture-like little face, blue eyes, fair 
hair and skin, a soft, mellow, peach -like bloom." 
Grandpapa was very much pleased with the ribbon 
bow; and, for her little sake, he sometimes wore 
it in his button-hole. When he had an opportunity, 
he wrote to both the little girls the letters which are 
mentioned above, and which pleased them very much. 
Their father and mother thought it a very "kind" 

8 



114 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and " gracious '* attention on his part; and her mamma 
said that Gianina should dictate a little answer in 
return for hers, and she would write it down for 
her, as Gianina could hardly write much then. But 
soon she could print, and form words very nicely, and 
was able to write herself. So one day they both wrote 
in lesson-time, and the following are the letters : — 

My dear Mr. W., — I thank you for the little letter 
you sent me. I hope you will like this little letter that 
I am just writing to you. We have got a garden all 
full of flowers ; but, in the summer, there used to be a 
great many more. We are just having school. We 
have a book-case hung up over Nannine's bureau. We 
have a blackboard hung by a blue string. 

Your little friend 

Gianina. 

Rome, Italy, April 5. 

My dear Mr. W., — I am very glad to have a little 
letter from you. I accept it as kindly as if it were writ- 
ten on my birthday. Baby is very fat, and can walk 
very well ; but she cannot talk English. She can only 
talk Italian, and she speaks very funnily : she says to4o 
for fuo-co. When they ask her, " Volete del pane ? " * 
she repeats it right over, "Volete del pane?" She 

* " Do you want some bread? " 



CHILDREN'S LETTERS. 115 

means " Yes, I do want some." She has blue eyes and 
golden hair. On the 8th of April, she will be two years 
old. The garden is full of tulips and hyacinths and 
gilly-flowers and pansies. Toity* is very kind in- 
deed ; for she only made me write this letter to- 
day, besides my French lesson. 

The other day I went to walk with Mr. B., the min- 
ister ; and I had a very nice walk. On Easter Day we 
went to papa's studio, at the top of the house,t to see 
the illumination of St. Peter's ; but it had been rain- 
ing, and the shavings had got wet that were in the 
little pans of grease that were meant to set the wicks 
on fire with. So they could not illuminate it that 
night ; but they put it off till Tuesday night, and we 
went in the carriage to see it. First we went to the 
Pincio to see it change into the golden light ; and it 
was very beautiful. Then we went down to the piazza 
of St. Peter's, and saw it there ; and then we came 

home. From your little friend 

Nankine. 

" Grandpapa " sent to know the heights of the chil- 
dren, as he wanted to compare them with some little 
girls at home. 

Nannine was just four feet high ; Gianina, three feet 

* The familiar name by which the children called the writer. 
t A private studio. 



116 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

seven and a quarter inches; little Memie, two feet 
nine and a quarter inches. 

We had a place marked on the wall in our room, 
where they stood regularly, when each birthday came 
round, to see how much they had grown since the year 
before. Sometimes it was quite surprising. 

I made a little silk dress to send home to Anna ; 
and we tried it on to Gianina. It was a little too small 
for her ; but little Anna was a year or two younger 
than Gianina, and it fitted her quite nicely when it 
arrived, although it was a little large. . . . 

May. — The prince and princess and their family are 
now staying at the villa a few weeks, occupying the 
rooms and the great hall below us; and they have 
just sent up to invite us to go this afternoon to an- 
other villa of theirs (which is near the Church St. John 
Lateran), as it is a festa day; and it is a good place 
there to see the procession in the streets. They them- 
selves are all going. I am sitting with my things on, 
waiting for the children and nurse to be ready. . . . 

We went, but were rather late to see the proces- 
sion; it being mostly over before we reached there. 
The children's papa and mamma came afterwards, 
and then we all walked in the villa ; the children, with 
the little Donna Francesca, the little daughter of 
the prince, amusing themselves in running among 



CHILDREN'S LETTERS. 117 

the alleys and around the flower-beds. It is a very 
pretty place. 

The little Francesca is a nice little thing, of Gianina's 
age, plump and rosy, frank and good-natured. She al- 
ways wants Gianina to go to their rooms and play with 
her every afternoon when they come home from driv- 
ing, and often comes for her. The other day they had 
a party of children, which they have every week at 
one of their houses ; and this time they had it here in 
the villa, having the garden to play in. Many chil- 
dren came, and they all played for a while in the great 
hall ; and, as our children had been invited, I took 
them in. The prince and princess have a little son 
about as large as Memie. When we went in, he was 
drawing round a little carriage which belongs to the 
house, and is, I believe, about as old : it is a little 
model carriage, and always stands in the great hall. 
The princess put the little boy behind, and our little 
Memie at the pole, and took her hand, although she is 
quite tall, and led them up and down the hall several 
times. She appeared to be quite in her element so, 
and very charming. 

Then all went down into the garden, and there .was 
a fine entertainment of ice-creams and cakes, and then 
another grand play, running around among the flowers, 
and in the broad avenues, before it was time to break up. 



118 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

June 1. — It is now quite decided that we shall go 
to Switzerland this summer. We leave here by stage 
early on the 4th for Civita Yecchia ; and shall go from 
there in the steamer the next afternoon, arriving at 
Leghorn in the morning ; and, sailing at night, arrive 
at Genoa the next morning, where we shall stop a 
day or two. 

We are told, by a gentleman who has frequently 
crossed the Alps, that it is too dangerous to go 
by the northern passes of the mountains so early in 
the season, especially as there has been a more than 
usual quantity of snow the last winter. We shall 
therefore go by Turin, where we shall stop two or 
three days ; and cross Mount Cenis, which is the lowest 
pass of the Alps, at least from Italy ; then by Cham- 
berry and Geneva, stopping a day or two ; then across 
the Lake of Geneva to one of the points there, and by 
Friburg and Berne to Interlachen. It is a circuitous 
route : but the nearer passes after leaving Turin could 
only be travelled by mules, which would be too tedious 
for the children ; and the luggage, at all events, would 
have to be sent round. We expect to be between two 
and three weeks on the road. There is a railroad a part 
of the way, from Genoa to Turin ; and I think that is 
all. For the rest, we shall go probably by vetturino.* 

* The vetturino is a man who supplies and drives a travelling car- 
riage with two or more horses. 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND. 119 



CHAPTER III. 

JOUKJSEy TO SWITZEELAKD. 

June 4. — After eight hours' ride in the stage, — or 
diligenza, as they call it in Italy ; in French, diligence, 
— -we are stopping over night at the hotel in Civita 
Vecchia. The children are all asleep in the adjoin- 
ing room. It is evening, and I commence a little 
account of our journey. 

Their mamma (their papa was too busy to go away 
this summer), the children, myself, and Mr. R., a 
friend of the family, who is to accompany us almost all 
the way, and Josef and Lolla, the two servants, filled 
the great lumbering coach. Not exactly lumbering, 
however ; as we went along with pretty good speed 
with four horses, changed every hour, and which the 
postilion, who rides on the back of one of them, kept 
always cheering up with the loud snapping of his long 
whip-lash, and his cheery voice often singing out. A 
postilion, by the way, is a curious-looking fellow, hav- 
ing always a gay dress of bright colors, and wearing 
often a cap or hat with a feather in it. He has no- 



120 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. \ 

thing to do but look after the horses, and sometimes 
shows off grand airs enough in managing them. There 
is another person, the guard, who has the care of the 
carriage and luggage, and looks after all our wants. 

How pleasant and beautiful the Campagna was ! — 
for it is all Campagna between Civita Vecchia and 
Rome. It was dotted all over with gay, scarlet pop- 
pies, which grow wild in Italy; and other flowers, 
blue, purple, and yellow. Nannine and I undertook to 
count the different kinds of flowers we should see on 
the way: we numbered eighteen; but I do not think 
we counted them all. 

When we arrived, and stopped at the hotel, how 
charming it was to feel the fresh air of the sea coming 
in delightfully, and to see the salt water all spread 
before us, and hear its rushing sound breaking upon 
the rocks ! The hotel is very near the water, and our 
windows open upon a long balcony behind the house, 
which looks directly upon it, and in which the chil- 
dren enjoy very much running up and down. 

Genoa. — We left Civita Vecchia on the next after- 
noon. The weather was fine; but, nevertheless, we had 
to go through all the uncomfortable process of a sea- 
voyage, Nannine was not sick at all ; but poor Gia- 
nina and baby were quite ill. Our good faithful Josef 
— for the maid, too, was pretty sick — how devotedly 
he took care of baby, as if she were the most precious 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND. 121 

thing in the world ! — as indeed she was. He would 
scarcely leave her out of his arms a moment. The 
boat was perfectly crowded ; so that we all — I mean 
our party, besides* a few others — slept on deck all 
night, some with mattresses, and some only with 
shawls and cloaks on the seats. 

We are now for two or three days in this busy city 
of Genoa, — at least it seems busy and lively to us, 
after our more quiet Rome. We spent yesterday in 
visiting the truly beautiful palaces and churches ; but 
the children passed much of the time at the lovely 
Villa Doria, a beautiful place. To-day we have all 
been — all excepting baby and the two servants ; for 
mamma did not want to have baby fatigued too much 
— to an enchanting villa called Pallavicina, six miles 
from the city. It is wonderfully beautiful everywhere ; 
one is always coming to something new; and part 
of it is almost like Fairyland. There are little beauti- 
ful temples here and there, with windows of colored 
glass, which make it seem inside as if you were in the 
midst of a rainbow; and pretty little bridges with 
handsome railings ; and caves ; and subterranean pas- 
sages filled with water, on which is a boat, into which 
you are invited, and a boatman rows you around. 

But the most curious of all were some mysterious 
water-works. Little fountains, or fairy streams of 
water, — they were so fine and delicate, — in one place 



122 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY 

came spouting up from the ground, all of a sudden, 
directly under your feet ; and you did not know how 
or whence they came! Nannine was swinging in a 
beautiful swing among the trees (for it is all pleasantly 
shaded with trees) ; and all at once a whole shower 
came up, and sprinkled her all over! Then Gianina 
wanted to try it and she, too, got sprinkled. And, if 
you sat down on one of the pretty seats arranged 
near, before you knew it the fine spray would come 
jetting up all about, and make you spring and jump 
to get away from it, until we discovered that it was 
a trick on purpose to amuse people ! The gardener, 
who went about with us, showing us around, slyly 
touched some little spring or machinery out of sight, 
and put all those magical, fairy showers or fountains 
in motion ! 

Whether our pleasant time in Genoa caused us 
to forget that we still had our journey to pursue, and 
so were a little tardy the next morning, or whether 
the people at the omnibus-station were over-punctual, 
we found ourselves just five minutes too late, when we 
arrived at the station, to take the coach : it was already 
far out of sight ! This was to have carried us a dis- 
tance of four-hours' ride to the cars in which we were 
to travel to Turin. What could we do ? Lose our pas- 
sage ? No ! Quick as thought, another carriage was 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND. 123 

procured to drive us after the omnibus or stage (which, 
of course, would travel a great deal faster than a com- 
mon carriage), and overtake it if possible. It had 
rained during the night, and the roads were wet ; and 
the horses were driven so fast, you would have 
laughed, had you not been too sorry, at the woful 
spectacle we presented ; particularly those in the front, 
with hats and coats and faces completely bespattered 
with mud ! 

The poor little children, too, inside the close, narrow 
carriage, going so fast, felt miserable and dizzy enough ; 
and, I suppose, would have been glad, at that moment, 
to have been anywhere but travelling. The feat was 
accomplished, however, the omnibus being overtaken ; 
and we were soon transferred to it. (As this was a 
little mortifying, I would like to say, in a parenthesis, 
that it was the only misadventure of the kind we had; 
it being the only time, in all our travels, that we were 
ever too late for the public conveyances.) 

After riding for the space of four hours in the omni- 
bus through a pretty country, we came to the railway- 
station. Soon after entering the rail-cars, we arrived 
upon the plains of Lombardy, a great level region cov- 
ered with rich grass, and abounding in the tall poplar- 
tree, — - the Lombardy poplar. This region is highly 
cultivated, and looks sunny and pleasant. After an 
hour or two, we had our first sight of the Alps, at 



124 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

first scarcely distinguishable from the white clouds in 
the horizon, but growing more and more distinct, until, 
just before reaching Turin, they loomed up grand, and 
white with snow. Since we have been in Turin 
(where we now are), we have been to the top of a 
very high hill, from which there is a splendid view of 
the great plains of Lombardy on one side, and of the 
Alps on the other. It is not to be wondered at that 
the barbarians should wish to pass over that frigid bar- 
rier of the mountains into these sunny plains.* 

A four-hours' ride in the cars brought us to Turin. 
We had time for walking out ,after dinner; and on 
every side we were reminded somewhat of Paris. It 
is such a cheerful, busy, pleasant place, with shops full 
of beautiful jewelry and silk goods! Our hotel is 
opposite the king's palace, which we visited. It is im- 
possible to describe to you all the splendid rooms, with 
the gilded walls and ceilings. The apartments of the 
queen-mother (the mother of Victor Emanuel) were 
as beautiful and enchanting as those of the " Arabian 
Nights," with the little boudoirs and dressing-room and 
sleeping-room ; but all looked home-like too, domestic, 
and pleasant. I think we were pleased, most of all, 
with three little common wooden chairs which the 
queen -mother had purchased for her grandchildren, 

* See the companion volume. 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND. 125 

and which were standing all together in one of her 
rooms. She was absent while we were there, and that 
is the reason we were allowed to go through her apart- 
ments; but she was expected back that very night, 
and perhaps those little chairs were a present she had 
just sent on before her to her grandchildren ! They 
were so plain and strong-looking, it seemed as if she 
meant that they should toss them about, and take com- 
fort with them, without being afraid of their getting 
injured. 



126 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



% 



CHAPTER IV, 

JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND CONTINUED. 

On Monday morning, the 13th, we were ready to 
leave Turin. So in due time our luggage was packed, 
and then ourselves, into a vettura; that is, a travelling- 
carriage, of which the driver is the vetturino. He 
carries us each day as far as he thinks we ought to go, 
and stops at the proper places for meals and for the 
night. He engaged to take us as far as Geneva in 
four days and a half. On the first day we arrived at 
Susa, a town at the foot of Mount Cenis, where we 
stopped for the night ; and it took us all the next day 
to ascend and descend the mountain. I have already 
mentioned that this is the lowest pass by which one 
can go into Switzerland from Italy (at least it was the 
nearest one for us). Switzerland is so surrounded by 
the Alps like a great wall, that you can only enter it 
by such passes ; and over this one a splendid road had 
been made by Napoleon Bonaparte. Nevertheless, 
ascending the mountain was a very slow process ; and 
often some of us got out of the carriage, and walked 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND CONTINUED. 127 

an hour or more at a time ; and sometimes we would 
get ahead of the carriage, and then we would wait in 
some little garden or on the roadside for it to come 
up. Once in a while, you meet with a farm-house ; and 
there is also a House of Refuge every little way, such 
as that upon Mount St. Bernard, where the great St. 
Bernard dogs were trained to search for and save trav- 
ellers overcome by the snow. I believe there are not 
many of these dogs left ; but we saw one in Turin, — a 
great, noble-looking creature, stout and strong as the 
pictures represent them, and with shaggy hair almost 
as white as the snow itself. 

This was not the season for us to be overtaken in a 
terrible snow-storm : so we had no such adventure as 
one of those great dogs coming to track us out under 
the drifting snow, with a basket of provisions and a 
bottle of wine hung round his neck for our use ! But 
the good monks who established those houses, and 
trained the dogs, were the means, no doubt, of saving 
many lives. 

The hill-tops around us were white with snow, as 
well as that of Mount Cenis itself; and we could have a 
better view of them than of the one we were travelling 
over ; for, when we got up nearer and nearer its* white 
head, we went straight into the clouds, which hid it all 
away from us ! The mist was so dense, that we could 
not see any thing distant : we only knew there were 



128 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

patches or fields of snow all around, which we were 
passing over ; and that we were in the very midst of a 
thunder-storm ! The sleet and hail came down heavily; 
but we rode on regardless, only we had to wrap our- 
selves closely in our cloaks. Then we began to de- 
scend ; and before nightfall we had reached the town 
at the foot of the mountain, on the other side. The 
next day, we arrived at our stopping-place before sun- 
set. It is the haying season ; and we went out into a 
splendid hay-field, where the children had a grand 
tumble upon the ricks of new-mown hay. Even little 
Memie rolled about, and was half buried in it, to her 
great delight. The sweet scent, and the fresh air, and 
the rural scene, — how delightful it all was ! 

On the fourth day, the pretty Swiss cottages began 
to appear, and the country — Savoy — was very pleas- 
ant. In the course of the morning, passing through 
the town of Chamberry, we got out of the carriage, 
and visited the handsome cathedral there. A little 
farther on, where we stopped at twelve o'clock for a 
late breakfast (we had had an early breakfast before), 
we had time to stroll a while in a garden, and sat upon 
the grass; and Nannine and Gianina enjoyed rolling 
down a slope between the winrows of new-cut hay. 

At noon, the next day, we arrived at Geneva. . . . 

Geneva. — Three years ago, we were at this same 
place, and spent a week. What a large party we were 



JOURNEY TO SWITZERLAND CONTINUED. 129 

then ! — little Cousin Lulu and her mamma ; and Cousin 
Harry, and his baby sister, and their mamma, with us. 
And what frolics the children had all together, some- 
times shouting at the top of their voices ! 

It was autumn then ; and what quantities of fine 
purple plums we used to buy in the streets! And 
what a beautiful little golden canary-bird we went to 
see at one of the shops, where there were also innu- 
merable beautiful watches ; for Geneva is famed for its 
watches. 

The good madame, too, who kept the hotel, — how 
much notice she took of the children ! We are not 
stopping at the same hotel now ; but we have taken 
tannine and Gianina there to see her, and she was 
much pleased. She thought they had grown so much ! 

We are now at the Hotel Bergues, on the opposite 
side of the river from where we then were. How very 
beautiful the views are from here ! ■ — the " swift " and 
" blue Rhone " all in front ; the boats sailing upon it, 
with lateen-sails spread out like great wings; and 
others, looking, in the distance, like fairy-boats, with 
their little white sails set, — make a charming scene. 
And far away over the water is Mont Blanc, with his 
snowy head, which we have tried to rise early enough 
to see, bright and clear, in the morning; as, during 
the remainder of the day, he is commonly covered 
with mist. 

9 



130 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Leading from one of the bridges which cross the 
river, opposite our window, is a little island. It is a 
tiny place, but large enough to be a pretty play- 
ground for children, and also a promenade for ladies 
and gentlemen. It is shady with trees ; and there are 
seats all about, and little tables for coffee and ice. 
There the children often go. . . . 

Three pleasant days in Geneva ; and then we sailed in 
a steamboat^ across the lake of the same name, to the 
beautiful town of Vevay. From there we made some 
pleasant excursions, stopping two nights ; and on Wed- 
nesday morning (the 22d) we took the diligence for 
Friburg, and arrived there in the afternoon. Friburg 
is famed for containing the largest organ in the world ; 
and in the evening this is played upon for the benefit 
of strangers. Of course we went. The music was 
grand and wonderful. It seemed to us as if the whole 
church were filled with it. Even Gianina, young as 
she is, and late as it was, was kept wide awake by it; 
and she asked in a whisper if it was "sung by voices." 
Sometimes it did sound marvellously like human 
voices. In the morning, we took a carriage to Berne ; 
and, on the way, what should we meet but another 
carriage filled with friends, who had been in Rome last 
winter ! It was very pleasant to meet them ; and' we all 
alighted, and stood in the road, and talked a while. 
They had lately parted from our good clergyman, Mr. 



STORY OF THE BEARS, 131 

B., who was on his way to Geneva, where he expected 
to meet with us. We were very sorry to have missed 
him; and we knew he would be disappointed in not 
seeing us, for he was a dear friend of the family. How 
fond he always was of taking Nannine and Gianina to 
walk with him! and how much they enjoyed it too ! 

We arrived very early at Berne, and had all the 
afternoon for walking about the town. What we 
wished to see very much were some bears belonging to 
the city, which it always keeps ; a bear being the em- 
blem of the city of Berne. One of those now taken 
care of by the city was presented by the Emperor 
Louis Napoleon. We went two or three times to the 
place where they are kept, but were not fortunate 
enough to see them, as they would not come out of 
their dens for us ; and, as we left the city early the next 
morning, we were obliged to content ourselves with 
some funny little wooden bears in imitation of them, 
which Mr. R., our travelling companion, bought for the 
children. 

At Berne, this good friend, who had come with us so 
far, and who had contributed greatly to the pleasure 
of the journey, was now to take leave of us, and go on 
to Paris. Nevertheless, when the carriage was ready, 
in the morning, he got in the same as usual, and rode a 
few miles with us ; then bade us good-by, and walked 
back to Berne. We were sorry that he could not see the 



132 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

pretty place where we were to be all summer : so, after 
we arrived there, we sent him a package of letters de- 
scribing it. Nannine and Gianina wrote also, for they 
were great pets of his ; and very soon there came an- 
swers, and this nice one for Gianina, telling all about 
those bears, which he had really seen after going back 
to Berne : — 

Paris, July. 

My dear little Gianina, — To show you how 
much I was pleased to receive your nice little letter, I 
will give you a long account of the bears of Berne, 
which I saw for you. Your very true friend, 

M. B. 

WHAT MARTIN SAW FOR GIANINA. 

After leaving the great old clock-tower, where he 
had seen the wonderful sights for his dear friend Nan- 
nine,* he walked on, thinking to himself, "Now I will 
go and see the bears for my other dear friend, Gianina." 
When he came to the great pit, he looked over the 
parapet ; and there were the bears on the little mound 
under the tree, in the part to the right. One was a 
large grisly bear, which he called "Mother-bear." The 
other was small and black : this one he called " Baby- 
bear." 

* The author regrets not being able to give that entertaining letter 
also ; but it is not at present accessible. 



STORY OF THE BEARS. 133 

As soon as Martin looked down to see them, they 
began to play and romp together. Mother-bear would 
pet Baby-bear; and Baby-bear would pull Mother-bear's 
hair with her teeth, and play all sorts of tricks, just as 
little Memie does sometimes. Some children who were 
there to see them threw down some bread; and the 
bears stopped playing, and ran down from under the 
tree to eat the bread. They must have been hungry; 
for they ate until all the bread was gone. There were 
two little brown birds that ate the bread with them, 
and the bears did not offer to hurt the birds. This 
was very kind and amiable, and Martin liked the bears 
for it. When the bread was all eaten, the bears ran 
back again to the mound. 

This time, Baby-bear climbed up the tree, and lay 
across a branch, just high enough to reach down and 
touch Mother-bear with her fore-paw. Every time she 
touched her, Mother-bear would try to catch Baby's 
paw; but Baby would draw it back so quickly, that she 
couldn't. By and by, Mother-bear ran up the tree, and 
caught Baby : then they came down, and hugged each 
other very lovingly, and rolled down the mound 
together, just as little Gianina rolled down the new- 
mown grass at Aix les Bains the other day.* 

When they had rolled all the way down, Baby-bear 



128. 



134 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

jumped up on her hind-legs, and stood quite erect. She 
looked just about as large as little Gianina would 
dressed in a bear-skin. Presently Mother-bear jumped 
up on her hind-legs too. Then they walked up to 
each other, and hugged and kissed; and Baby-bear 
bunted Mother-bear, just as little Memie knocks her 
head against her mamma sometimes ; and they rolled 
over, and played together for a long time, until Mother- 
bear was tired. So she got up, and leaped away towards 
the bear-house, and stopped outside the door to wait 
for Baby, who didn't want to come yet. But, after a 
little while, she got up, and leaped away after her 
mamma. Then they hugged and kissed and rolled 
over together once more before they went into their 
great house. 

It was a very pretty sight to see them ; and Martin 
was greatly obliged to them for being so kind and ami- 
able as to show off for him to describe to his little 
friend Gianina. They were very sorry that they did 
not know when Gianina made them a visit the day 
before. If she had only sent in her card, on a piece of 
bread and butter, they would have come out immedi- 
ately to receive her and all her party. They hope, that, 
when Gianina visits Berne again, she will not fail to 
pay them a visit. She should not forget to send in her 
card. Her very good friend also hopes she will re- 
member to make his kind compliments to both Mad- 



STORY OF THE BEARS. 135 

ame and Mademoiselle Bear, and tell them how much 
he was gratified to make their acquaintance.* 

* la Mr. Abbott's " Rollo in Switzerland," there is the following in- 
teresting account of the origin of bears being kept in Berne : — 

'" Berne is famous for bears. The bear is, in fact, the emblem of the 
city, and of the canton, or province, in which Berne is situated. 
There is a story, that in very ancient times, when Berchtold, the original 
founder of the city, was beginning to build the walls, a monstrous bear 
came out of the woods to attack him. Berchtold, with the assistance 
of the men who were at work with him on the walls, killed the bear. 
They gloried greatly in this exploit ; and they preserved the skin and 
claws of the bear for a long time as the trophy of their victory. After- 
wards they made the bear their emblem. They painted the figure of 
the animal on their standards. They made images and effigies of him 
to ornament their streets and squares and fountains and public build- 
ings. They stamped the image of him on their coins ; and, to this day, 
you see figures of the bear everywhere in Berne.'* 



136 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER V. 



SUMMER IN SWITZERLAND. 



BONINGEN, NEAR INTERLACHEN. 

Oitr " Pension " (boarding-house) is the loveliest lit- 
tle place imaginable, — all clustered with vines, and 
buried in trees, so that we can scarcely see it until we 
reach the very door. It is a regular little Swiss cot- 
tage. The parlor, looking so lovely when we came 
into it, is almost formed of glass ; at least, two sides of 
it are all of window-panes, which we can just slip aside, 
— for they are open sidewise,— and let the sweet, 
fresh air in. 

In front, a great lake,* ten miles long, is spread 
before us with its bright silvery water ; and, in the rear 
of the house, our windows look out upon green fields, 
where they have been making hay this last week. Be- 
yond these rise great hills, which look as if their tops 
might be reached in fifteen minutes ; but it would take 
four hours to ascend them. They are also dangerous, 
being filled with precipices and craggy places. Indeed, 

* Lake Brientz. 



SUMMER IN SWITZERLAND. 137 

I suppose they are impassable for any but the hunter: 
he climbs them sometimes in pursuit of the chamois. 

At present, there are only ourselves at the cottage, 
with the kindest and most pleasing little host and 
hostess in the world. They would do any thing for us, 
and would only make us live too luxuriously. Real 
fresh country milk we have ; and butter and cream 
every morning and night, with delicious bread. And 
the dinners ! — I cannot begin to tell you how nicely 
they are prepared, and how extravagant, for only so few 
of us. Some of the meats we could readily dispense 
with ; but the dessert is too tempting, — such nice cus- 
tards, delicate puddings, strawberry-tarts, &c. We 
often tell good Mrs. Shoemaker (the landlady) — a fun- 
ny name ! — that she gives us trop de bonnes choses. 
Regularly, for tea, we have a great dish of strawberries, 
with cream. 

Although there are so few of us, four languages are 
daily spoken. Our servants and little Memie speak 
only Italian, the rest of us English among ourselves. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schumacher (their real name) speak Swiss 
in their family, and French with us. 

Occasionally some one stops to take dinner. For 
instance, two gentlemen, an Englishman and a Ger- 
man, came over yesterday from Interlachen ; and to- 
day they came again, to bathe and fish in the lake. 
They told us a sad story of a little boy, who a few 



138 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

days since, in descending one of the Swiss mountains 
not far from here, lost his balance, and was thrown 
from his mule, and so much injured as to cause his 
death. What a painful affliction for the friends who 
were with him ! and we are so happy here ! . . . 

We did not then know, but soon afterwards learned, 
that this was a beautiful little American boy whom I 
had known at home. How suddenly cut off from the 
fond embrace of his parents! We longed to go to 
them ; but it was too late : they had already started on 
their sad journey home. It made us feel very, very 
sorrowful for them. 

Thus " in the midst of life we are in death." Were 
we always as loving, gentle, and good as we should 
be, we need not fear being so suddenly taken from 
life; for, should such a fatal accident then happen to 
us, we should only be transferred from one scene to 
another still more pleasant and happy. 



EXCURSIONS IN SWITZERLAND. 139 



CHAPTER VI. 

EXCUKSIOSTS IN SWITZERLAND. 

The climate here seems very much like that of New 
England; sometimes cloudy or rainy, and sometimes 
fine. The barometer indicates just now very fine 
weather; and we are hoping that it may last over 
to-morrow, the Fourth of July, for which we have 
planned a pleasant excursion, — an afternoon drive to 
Lauterbrunnen. 

We made an excursion the other day to Giessbach 
Falls, for which we have to cross the lake in a small 
row-boat. It is a two-hours' sail. The fall comes 
pouring and roaring down into the lake with its white 
foam. After landing, we climbed up the hills by a path- 
way, sometimes losing sight of the falls ; for they are 
very circuitous, often rushing over deep precipices, 
and hiding away in a low valley. Their source is a 
great way off, up the hills. There are beautiful views 
all the way ; and at length you reach the flat, level top 
of a hill, where there is a house, — a kind of tavern, — 
and a shop filled with quantities of the beautiful 
carved wood-work of which you find so much in Swit- 



140 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

zerland. What elegant wooden spoons and forks, with 
flowers and leaves carved on them; and plates with 
acorns or grapes, or some such pretty object, sculptured 
all round the edge; and such beautiful toy-cottages 
of different sizes, and lovely little animals, — graceful 
deer, chamois-goats, and cows and horses ! We could 
scarcely tell what to select, all were so beautiful. But 
Nannine and Gianina chose, among other things, some 
funny little Berne bears, in remembrance of those we 
did not see ; and among their mamma's purchases was 
a pretty little toy-watch, the back of red carnelian, to 
/ send to " little Anna " in America : for their dear 
mamma, when buying things for her own children, 
often thought of pleasing little Anna, although so far 
away. She and I chose models — for we thought 
them beautiful — of the famous Swiss lion sculp- 
tured in stone, which we hope to see when we go to 
Lucerne. 

But we left all these things until we should come 
back, because the shop was only half-way, and we had 
to climb up another hill or two before reaching the top 
of the fall, although from there we could see it before 
us pouring beautifully down the steep green hillsides. 
After clambering on, first crossing a lovely green vale, 
you go up, up an ascent until you come to the top. 
Then you may walk in behind the cascade ; but you 
would get pretty wet, sprinkled by the showers of 



EXCURSIONS IN SWITZERLAND. 141 

spray. Two pretty rainbows spanned the white foam 
above and below. All around are many fine trees ; and 
the beautiful grass-covered valley which we crossed is 
spread out before you, sheltered by the high hills from 
which the falls precipitate themselves. There they are 
shut in from all the world beside, and the place seemed 
to us one of the most charming and beautiful spots we 
had ever beheld. 

From the top, the falls go winding down through 
the ravines, and over the rocky slopes, many hundred 
feet, befbre they reach the lake. How immense they 
would be could they be seen in one view ! but I have 
already said that they go hiding themselves away here 
and there. 

Returning to the shop, we took the things we had 
purchased, and descended the hill to the lake, where 
we found our little boat awaiting us; and we enjoyed 
the row home, although pretty well fatigued by the 
excursion. 

On the afternoon of the Fourth of July, which 
proved to be a splendid day, the two elder children, 
their mamma, and myself, took our drive through the 
beautiful Valley of Lauterbrunnen. 

This valley is almost too lovely for description. It 
goes from Interlachen (near us) direct to the Jung- 
frau,* the beautiful " Virgin Mountain," always covered 

* Pronounced Yung-vrow 



142 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

with snow. It is called " Virgin," or " Young Maid- 
en," because it has been always so fresh, with the 
pure white snow on its top, which no one had been 
able to reach, I think, until Professor Agassiz, not 
many years since, with a small party, accomplished it. 
We can see it from Interlachen ; and often, at sunset, 
it is bathed in a lovely rose-colored light, so like a 
beautiful rosy blush. 

When we set out in the carriage, and drove on over 
the smooth, pleasant road through the Valley of Lau- 
terbrunnen, the Jungfrau was right before us a great 
part of the way, with her sister snow-capped mountains, 
three or four in a group ; and it seemed as if we must 
come close upon them. But we could not really reach 
them. It needs horses or mules to take one quite 
there, and it would be an excursion for a whole day. 
We went only as far as the Staubbach Falls, at the end 
of the valley, — another very beautiful cascade, but 
wholly differing from the Giessbach. This falls per- 
pendicularly over a cliff, nine hundred feet, in a fine 
stream, apparently ; but this appearance is owing to its 
very great height. It is scattered into spray before it 
reaches the bottom. Oh, how fairy-like and ethereal 
it looks, this fall ! A poet has described it as like a 
graceful horses tail waving in the air ! 

From under the spray as it fell, or near it, we gath- 
ered some flowers to carry home and press. Nannine 



EXCURSIONS IN SWITZERLAND. 143 

was delighted in the gathering; for she has a sort of pas- 
sion for flowers ; and we have a big heavy press, which 
good Mr. Schumacher gave us. It is excellent for some 
of the thick-stemmed flowers which we find, — as the 
Alpine rose. We have also pressed in it some very- 
large pond-lilies, which we got on the other side of 
the lake, opposite our house. They are larger than the 
New -England pond -lilies; otherwise they resemble 
them precisely, excepting that they have not the sweet 
fragrance of our lilies. 

We often take a pleasant row across the lake to 
some pretty places oh the other side, where there are 
beautiful fields to stroll in, and two or three little ham- 
lets, and the pretty pond filled with those beautiful 
lilies. 

Sometimes we take a pleasant walk over to Interlach- 
en, two miles from us. Nannine, and even Gianina, can 
walk the distance very well ; and sometimes we go in 
a boat. There is a Swiss lady staying at our Pension a 
few days, with her son and daughter. They are all very 
agreeable, and often accompany us. Their language is 
the Swiss, which is a very droll-sounding language : it 
does not seem as if one could ever learn it, unless 
brought up in Switzerland. With us they speak 
French. 

Little Memie does not take any of these excursions 
with us ; but she has a nice donkey, on which she goes 



144 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

to ride every day with the maid. The young Swiss 
gentleman mentioned above has drawn so nice a pic- 
ture of the maid Lolla, with her broad-rimmed hat, 
seated, with Memie in her lap, upon the donkey, and 
our funny Josef walking comically by their side, with 
a long stick to beat up the donkey! It made us all 
laugh to see it, it is so natural and well drawn. 

'Sometimes baby sits alone on the donkey, with 
Lolla or Josef walking by her side; but she does not 
like that as well. She takes a tumbler of goat's milk 
every night from a little goat that is driven up to the 
gate and milked ; and she is growing as fat as butter. 
The following letter tells more about the goats and 
about baby ; for we still call her " baby," although she 
talks very nicely now. Here they give her a pretty 
Swiss name, — " Mimoli." 

Switzerland, July 10. 

My dear little E , . . . Shall I tell you some- 
thing about the great flocks of goats that pass by 
our cottage every night ? There are as many as fifty, 
or seventy, or a hundred, in one flock. In the morn- 
ing they are driven out to pasture, and in the evening 
they all come home. Almost every one has a little 
tinkling bell around its neck ; and such a tinkling as all 
the bells together make ! Most of the goats here are 
not white, as they are in Italy, but fawn-colored, and 



EXCURSIONS IN SWITZERLAND. 145 

brown, and black. They are very tame ; and we 
sometimes take bread for them in our pockets when 
we are going out, or pick up some tufts of grass as we 
meet them in the fields, and let them nibble it out of 
our hands. A whole dozen of them will come flocking 
round us at once to get something to eat. They are 
so pretty, and such gentle little creatures ! 

Very often the boys who drive them will carry a 
bunch of flowers or strawberries in their hand. They 
are always pleased to see us taking notice of their 
goats; for I think they love them very much: and 
then they offer us the flowers or strawberries. If we 
have no pennies to give in return for them, and do 
not like to take them, they will answer with a pleasant 
smile, "No matter," and let us have them all the 
same. 

There are many strawberries in the fields about 
here ; and yesterday, when we went out to walk, Nan- 
nine was delighted to find and pick some herself: it 
was the first time in all her life. She had a little 
wooden drinking-cup, such as they use in Switzerland, 
hanging round her neck; and she filled it with the 
berries, and brought them home to her sister, who was 
not very well. 

Little Memie goes every day into the strawberry- 
field, riding on her little donkey ; and she delights in 
picking and eating them as fast as she can. She says, 
10 



146 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

" Ecco una fravola ! " (" Here is a strawberry ! ") and, 
before any one can see it, pop it goes into her little 
mouth ! 

To-day, while it was raining hard, she looked out of 
the window, and said piteously, " Non posso andare 
nel campo, a cogliere le fravole ! " (" I cannot go into 
the fields to pick strawberries!") 



ANECDOTES AT THE PENSION. 147 



CHAPTER VII. 

ANECDOTES AT THE PENSION. 

July 30. — Just now a party has arrived for an af- 
ternoon treat in the portico, in front of the house, and 
out under the trees. They have charming times there 
out of doors : there are tables spread for dinner and 
supper ; and the servants wait upon them the same as 
if they were in the house. Very often such parties 
come for the day, and make it very lively. 

There are now a good many at the Pension, coming 
and going. Some stay a few days, then others take 
their places; so .that the house is nearly full all the 
time. Among the boarders, for two or three weeks, is 
a young and elegant Polish couple on a bridal tour. 
They seem to enjoy very much going off on a day's 
excursion all by themselves ; and, while they are in 
the house, they are almost always in their own room, 
and not to be seen by any one, excepting at meals. 
But they have a sweet little sister eleven years old, 
who is a delightful companion for our little girls ; and 
she often comes into our parlor to play with them. 



148 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

She speaks French with them, and this is an excellent 
practice for Nannine. For some time after we came, 
Nannine was very shy about speaking French, which 
quite disappointed us ; for we felt sure she could use it 
if she would make the attempt, because she had al- 
ways done her oral exercises* with great facility, 
turning English into French. But, in about three 
weeks, she came out with it all at once, and now uses 
it very readily, and is -fast learning to say any thing 
she wishes to. 

It is very amusing to hear our Josef picking up all 
sorts of phrases. He hears the people in the yard call- 
ing out to one another, as they meet, in Swiss or Ger- 
man, " Wie geht's ? wie geht's ? " (" How do you do ? " 
or, "How goes it?") He takes this to be the name of 
the chamber-maid ! so he goes about knocking at the 
doors in search of her, calling out, " Wie-geht's ! wie- 
geht's!" and is very much surprised that he cannot 
make her hear, or that she will not answer to her 
name. It makes us all laugh very heartily. 

He is very good-natured and frolicsome, and likes a 
good chat : so one evening he came up to the portico, 
where several gentlemen were sitting, and began to 
tell a story about a certain individual among the 
boarders who was deeply in love. Josef acted it all 

* On the Ollendorff system. 



ANECDOTES AT THE PENSION, 149 

out, — how he sighed, and how his heart was affected 
(suiting his gestures to his words), and how, at some- 
thing which had happened, he was so startled and dis- 
tressed, that the chevaux (touching his hair at the 
same time) " stood up on the top of his head." The 
gentlemen could restrain themselves no longer, but 
shouted with laughter ; for he had made the ludicrous 
mistake of saying chevaux instead of cheveux, — horses 
instead pf hair. " The horses stood up on the top of 
his head!" 

Our maid Lolla learns French very nicely; and when 
she speaks it, in her quiet way, she seems like a little 
French woman, she is so neat and trim and lady-like. 

Since we have been here, dear little Gianina has had 
occasionally the chills and fever, which makes it ne- 
cessary always to keep her in the house towards even- 
ing. This has confined her mother and me a good 
deal ; as, when there have been excursions to the more 
distant falls and mountains and to the glaciers, where 
we could not take the children, we have often been 
obliged to go separately, in order that one of us might 
remain at home with her. 

One of the falls we visited thus was the Reichen- 
bach, a grand cascade ; and it was there I saw a real 
chamois-goat. There are not many of these now 
among the mountains. This one was in a pen, and 
was kept by a little girl. It was the brightest, pretti- 



150 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

est little creature that ever was : he had such sparkling 
eyes, and so graceful a form ! There was a small hole 
high up in the pen, through which the little girl put 
some grass for him ; and he jumped straight up, very 
high, on a shelf, to reach it. It was beautiful to see 
his motions. There was a high rock also in the pen, 
on which he could climb. 

When we visited the Jungfrau, and other moun- 
tains, we were very much interested in the avalanches 
of snow and rocks, which were frequently falling. 
They make a rolling noise like thunder ; and, for the 
few minutes that you see them moving, they look like 
waterfalls pouring down through the ravines of the 
mountains. 

The glaciers are very interesting, — great rough 
places, prickly, with a sort of icicle jutting out from 
their surface ; but there are among them caves of pure 
ice, reflecting within them the most beautiful blue col- 
or, more deeply blue than the sky. We should have 
liked to have the children go to these places; but their 
mamma thought it would be too fatiguing for them, 
and that they had better wait until they were older. 

We have been waiting for the arrival of an excellent 
physician, who has been expected for two or three 
weeks, to see what advice he would give about Giani- 
na. She is better now, so that we may be able to stay 
some weeks longer; but we shall probably go away 



ANECDOTES AT THE PENSION. 151 

sooner than was at first intended. While I am writing, 
she and Nannine are both in the yard, playing with 
two young gentlemen, with whom they enjoy having 
grand frolics. They were making such a shouting just 
now, and so much noise, that I was obliged to go to 
the window two or three times to speak to them, fear- 
ing they would disturb the rest of the household. . . . 
They have had letters lately from little Anna's grand- 
papa in America, which perfectly delighted them. 
They frisked round, and clapped hands, and hugged 
and kissed and thanked, and took the letters to bed 
with them, or put them close by their bedside. We 
all received letters by the same mail ; so that they were 
still more pleased, I suppose, feeling that they also 
were large enough to be treated as the older persons 
were. . . . 

Here my letter was left ; and I went down and took 
Nannine and Gianina, — the two young gentlemen join- 
ing us, — and we went out into the pretty fields behind 
the house, and had a walk and a run down the slopes, 
to the great amusement of us all. A few days after- 
wards, one of the gentlemen went away, — it was the 
one who drew the picture of Lolla and baby on the 
donkey ; and yesterday the other was obliged to go, 
quite to our regret and his own. He was always at 
our service to talk with, or walk with, or to row us 
across the lake, which he seemed to enjoy as much as 



152 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

we; and, besides the pleasure of his society, he always 
spoke French with us, — for he knew no English, — 
which was excellent and delightful practice for us. 

It is now the 7th of August ; and we shall proba- 
bly go very soon. The doctor came, and said that 
the best place for Gianina was on the Righi. Poor 
Gianina ! The other day, when she was lying on the 
bed, not well, her little head seemed to be running 
upon having a holiday, as she had read of in the 
" Rollo " books, in grandpapa's orchard. So there was 
nothing to be done but that her mamma, who was sit- 
ting beside her, should come and ask me if I would 
not write to Anna's grandpapa, and ask him if he 
would let her and Nannine have a holiday in his gar- 
den when we go to America. I promised faithfully to 
send the message ; which I did. 

It has been a real pleasure on some of our excursions 
to see Mr. Abbott's name in the books at the hotels; for 
he has just preceded us, being at Interlachen when we 
arrived. The children are so familiar with and so fond 
of the " Rollo " books, that it seems as if their author 
^were an old friend. Thursday, 11th. — Yesterday, it 
being our last day, we took a lovely walk along the 
lake to a charming little waterfall, underneath which 
were growing many pretty blue harebells. In the 
afternoon, we went to Interlachen to purchase some 
of the beautiful views of the scenery to carry away 



ANECDOTES AT THE PENSION. 153 

with us. Then we drove over to a beautiful place 
called the " Jungfrau Blick," to have one more view 
of the Virgin Mount ; but we did not see it, it being 
covered with mist, or, as Nannine said, " elle etait trop 
modeste" to make her appearance. But we sat out 
under the trees, and had a cup of coffee and a little 
treat there, just as the Swiss do ; and could look off 
upon the lake, which was tinted with a lovely rose- 
colored hue. 

We are so sorry to leave our little pretty nest, our 
Swiss cottage, where we have had so pleasant a sum- 
mer ; but this afternoon we have to start for our des- 
tination on the Righi Mountain. The doctor says it 
will be too cold to stay there more than a week ; and 
then we are to go to Weisbad for a fortnight. 



154 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LEAVING SWITZERLAND. 

We went in a steamboat across the beautiful Lake 
of Thun, and stopped at Thun ; the good doctor being 
with us, and carrying us all about; for this was where he 
lived. Here we had a view again of the grand old 
snow-white Alps, which we were truly sorry to leave ; 
for they seemed like long-familiar friends. From there 
we went to Lucerne, and met on the way with a pleas- 
ant Polish family, who stopped at the same hotel with 
us, and who had a little girl, who, after they became 
acquainted, used to come into our room, and play with 
our little girls. 

At Lucerne we went to see the famous lion, of which 
we bought the pretty models, carved in wood, at Giess- 
bach Falls. It is a momnuent to the memory of the 
brave Swiss Guard, who so nobly defended the family 
of Louis XVI. during the French Revolution. The 
lion, sculptured in stone, is lying with his fore-paws 
grasping the shield of France, with a mournful look; 
and is wounded and dying. Little Memie said, as she 



LEAVING SWITZERLAND. 155 

stood with the rest of us looking at it, " E ammalato." * 
And, when she was asked what he was sick of, she said 
he had the fever •, "ha la febbre;" which is the only sick- 
ness of which she knows any thing, Gianina having 
had it so lately. It seemed very cunning for so little 
a child to notice the mournful expression of the lion. 

We stopped but a day or two then at Lucerne, but 
went to a place called Kaltesbad, — - a hotel, and not 
a town, — on the Righi. This mountain is very near 
Lucerne, and is a place where everybody likes to go 
to see the sun rise, — which is a very splendid sight, 
seeing it from the summit. Some persons stop at Kal- 
tesbad, which is half way up the mountain ; and then 
rise at two or three o'clock in the morning, and go up 
the rest of the way before the sun has risen. But there 
is a hotel on the top also; and all who can like to go 
there and spend the night, although it is often over- 
full. 

We went up on horseback to Kaltesbad, two long 
hours' ride ; and all the way along, going up the rug- 
ged steeps on foot, were men with their shoulders 
loaded with great packages of things, which they were 
carrying up to the hotels ; for every thing that is eaten 
or used there has to be carried up from the towns 
below. We thought they must be so tired ! We were 

* "He is sick." 



156 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

astonished to find a hundred persons at Kaltesbad 
when we arrived : we did not suppose there would be 
so many. The weather was cloudy, and some had 
been waiting there two or three days for it to be fine 
enough to see a clear sunrise. But two or three days 
more passed, and still it was cloudy; for such high 
mountains are very apt to veil their heads in a misty 
wreath. In the mean time we walked about, went all 
over the mountain, even up to the top, but could not 
see at any great distance. We found a few blue-ber- 
ries, which Nannine was very fond of picking, and 
Memie very fond of eating. There were very few 
flowers ; we could scarcely find three or four different 
kinds : but we liked to ramble about nevertheless. 

Our week which we were to spend there was half 
over, and the weather appeared more cloudy than ever. 
There had been no clear sun at all ; and many persons 
thought they would wait no longer to see the sun rise, 
but would go back to Lucerne. The children's mam- 
ma, too, thought it was rather too cold for them, and 
she also decided to go down. So we packed up, 
and got all ready to set out after dinner. Gianina and 
baby were put into a chaise a porteur (a chair carried 
on poles by men) ; and the rest of us all came down on 
foot, — even Nannine : but she bore it as well as the rest 
of us ; for she is as light on her feet almost as a little 
wild deer. We could not have ridden, as there were no 



LEAVING SWITZERLAND. 157 

horses there ; and we thought it would be less fatiguing 
to walk than to go in a chair : so we set out with great 
enjoyment; but the road was perfectly steep a great 
part of the way, and it took us two long hours to de- 
scend, and we were pretty well tired. 

Then we had half an hour's sail across the Lake of 
Lucerne, which was splendidly bright and glowing, 
with a golden sunset ; for the clouds had all scattered 
and disappeared. And as we sat at the tea-table at the 
hotel that evening, and could look out upon the lake 
and Mount Righi, opposite to us, Nannine exclaimed 
all at once, " What a great fire on the mountains ! " 
We looked, and, behold ! it was the splendid full moon 
rising. "Oh!" we thought, "what a fine day it will be 
to-morrow, and what a splendid sunrise ! and we shall 
not be on the top of the Righi to see it ! " And very 
truly the morning was glorious, with not a cloud to be 
seen, and the head of Mount Righi stood as fair and un- 
veiled as possible ; and from it there must have been a 
magnificent sunrise seen by those who were fortunate 
enough to remain. 

(I will say, sub rosa, that their mamma and I after- 
wards went to the top, and saw a glorious sunrise, 
with the country all around, and the distant Alps 
looking magnificent ; but the children remained then at 
the hotel. Probably, at some future time, they also will 
have the opportunity of seeing the beautiful sight.) 



158 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

In this very region, at the foot of Mount Righi, and 
around the Lake of Lucerne, which is the "Lake of the 
four Cantons," are the places where were performed 
the romantic and brave deeds of the patriot William 
Tell, whose name is held in remembrance, not only in 
Switzerland, but in all countries. It was here that he 
refused to bow to the hat of the tyrant Gessler, which 
was placed upon a pole ; and, as a punishment for re- 
fusing to do so, he was compelled to shoot the apple 
on the head of his own son. He was so fortunate as to 
hit the apple exactly in the middle of it ; but, for fear 
that he might kill his child, he had carried another 
arrow under his cloak, with which he meant to shoot 
the tyrant, he said, if his son's life had been taken. 
When he was afterwards being carried a prisoner 
across the lake, a terrible storm arose ; and he was set 
free to steer the boat, because he was the most skil- 
ful boatman of them all. Seizing the opportunity, he 
drew the boat to land, and then leaped ashore, but set 
the boat adrift again with the tyrant in it : the latter, 
nevertheless, escaped the storm, and got safe to land. 
Tell, meeting him at another time, however, shot him: 
and this was the beginning of a long war between 
Switzerland and Austria; for Gessler was an Austrian 
governor. 

Switzerland is now a republic, although not exactly 
like the Republic of the United States. 



WEISBAD AND ST. GALL. 159 



CHAPTER IX. 



WEISBAD AKD ST. GALL. 



From Lucerne, we went to Zurich in a carriage. It 
was a very hot day, — the hottest that we had had all 
summer; and the children really suffered from the 
heat. But the ride was through a beautiful country : 
it looked like a bright and cheerful garden all the way, 
and particularly when we came upon the Lake of 
Zurich, which was very pleasant and refreshing. At 
two o'clock, we arrived : but it was so exceedingly 
warm, that we could not go out until towards even- 
ing; and then we went almost all about the town, 
Nannine and I together, and Gianina and baby with 
Lolla in another direction, in search of an ice-cream 
saloon ; and at last each party only found one small 
one. But that gave us all that we wanted, however, 
and made us quite cool and comfortable. 

From Zurich we came to St. Gall, where we staid a 
day and two nights ; and, on the 22d of August, we 
arrived at Weisbad, in the canton of Appenzell. The 



160 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

hotel is large, with nice grounds and pretty walks, and 
is full of people. But, as we have our meals at a pri- 
vate table, we do not see much of them in the house, 
excepting in the evening, when we go into the parlor. 
There all the ladies and gentlemen are as merry as 
they can be, playing all sorts of games. One is, form- 
ing a procession, and following the leader. This one 
leads them all over the house, through the passages 
and halls, and up stairs and down stairs, which makes 
it all very entertaining. 

We take long walks through the delightful green 
fields, where the hay is still making, and go about the 
village, or on the country roads, and meet the peas- 
ants, often in a pretty costume, — the Appenzell ; 
the women sometimes with a scarlet cap on their head, 
and the men with a bright scarlet vest. 

All the women in the village do the beautiful em- 
broidery-work of muslin or lace, which is sent all 
over Europe and America. They sit by the windows, 
with little round' frames in their hands, passing the 
needle up and down so busily. We step up, and speak 
with them a little; but they keep steadily at their 
work. What elegant collars they bring round to 
sell! and they are so cheap! at least, cheaper than 
elsewhere. 

St. Gall. — We stopped a few days at Weisbad, and 
now have come back to St. Gall, where we stay also a 



WEISBAD AND ST. GALL. 161 

few days. It is a very pleasant town, surrounded by 
beautiful hills. To-day there has been a grand festival 
on one of the hills ; a splendid place for *such a pur- 
pose, the top being all a smooth, grassy lawn. It was 
a holiday for the children of the Protestant schools ; 
and a very beautiful festival it was. We were there 
nearly all day, before and after dinner. 

The scholars went up in procession, the girls all in 
white, and most of the boys in a simple military dress, 
— dark frock-coats, and white pants. There was a large 
company of boys, officered and exercised entirely by 
themselves. None of them seemed to be over fifteen ; 
and there were little things, who looked not more than 
six or seven years of age : but they went through all 
the exercises and manoeuvres, firing muskets, cannon, 
&c, with the precision, regularity, and seriousness of 
old soldiers. They had gymnastic exercises besides, 
which were very interesting. 

It was an immense place, or field ; and the children 
were divided into parties of a hundred or more, each 
with its master ; the girls all by themselves, and the 
boys by themselves, carrying on their games. It was 
such a pretty sight to see those large circles of chil- 
dren, all in white, dancing round like so many butter- 
flies, all in perfect good humor and enjoyment! The 
games were regulated by the superintendents. Some 

of the funniest were among the boys. In one called 
11 



162 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

" Jacob, wo bist du ? " * two were put within a circle, 
with a little hollow sort of drum on each of their heads, 
which covered them down to the shoulders, entirely 
blinding them, and making them look very comical; 
and then they called out, " Where are you ? " and tried 
to catch each other. 

We went almost into convulsions of laughter some- 
times, seeing them run all unconsciously into each oth- 
er's arms ! But I believe the game was not up until 
they had fairly caught each other by trial. A similar 
game was played in the evening, in the parlor at Weis- 
bad, only it was a gentleman and lady instead of chil- 
dren ; and they were blinded with handkerchiefs, and 
each had a key, which he or she tapped on the floor 
once in a while; and by this means one would find 
where the other was. It was very amusing. 

Another game was " Cat and Mouse " One stands 
within the ring or circle of children, for the mouse ; 
and one is outside, for the cat. If the cat breaks 
through, and gets within the circle, the mouse must 
run out, and the cat must not be allowed to go after 
her if it can be prevented. Or if she gets out, and 
the mouse gets in again, she must be kept out if pos- 
sible; and so it goes on, until the cat succeeds in 
catching the mouse, and then some one else takes 
the place. 

* " Jacob, where art thou? " or, " Where are yon? n 



WEISBAD AND ST. GALL. 163 

There were long tables spread under the trees for 
lunch, with all things nice upon them; and towards 
evening, after a splendid day, the children were 
marched back again, in procession, to the town. 



164 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER X. 



VISIT TO MUNICH. 



Munich, September. 
From St. Gall, we came first by diligence, and then 
across the Lake of Constance in a steamboat, then by 
diligence again, and railroad, all in a day and a half, 
to this very handsome city of Munich. Here the chil- 
dren's papa and mamma have a good friend, Mr. M., who 
takes us out every morning in his carriage, and shows 
us all the fine places, until three o'clock, when we re- 
turn to the hotel for dinner. Yesterday we all dined 
at his house ; and, as his family are in the country, he 
invited a charming German lady and her daughter to 
meet us. The daughter is very pretty and amiable, 
and speaks Italian very well ; which was very fortu- 
nate for some of us, who could not speak German. 
Of the regular long German dinner I could not begin 
to tell you. But there was pastry at the beginning; 
and in the middle, after two or three courses of meat, 
there was a pudding ; and, after some other courses 
of meat, there were cakes and pies again. It was all 



VISIT TO MUNICH. 165 

very nice; but I do not know what we should do if 
we had such every day, with all the beer that goes 
round and round. 

We looked at all the pretty curiosities, gifts, &c, 
which Mr. M.'s boys had collected, or had had given 
them from time to time, and which were kept in a 
glass cabinet that was quite large and well filled ; it 
making a most pretty ornament for the parlor. And 
what pretty vines growing in vases were drooping 
from the windows down to the floor ! There was one 
hanging by a cord from the middle of the ceiling, its 
green leaves and tendrils falling beautifully over our 
heads. 

To-day, good Mr. M. dined with us. He took us all 
over the bronze foundery; but they art not casting 
any thing at present. It is an interesting place to visit, 
and especially so to us, because the children's papa is 
having much work done there, — great statues, which 
will look so fine ! 

At another time, when we were with Mr. M., who is 
inspector to King Lewis, the father of the reigning 
king, Maximilian, we had a fine opportunity to see his 
majesty. We had just come out of a studio, and he 
had just gone into one on the opposite side of the 
street. His carriage, with six horses, and with liveried 
postilions and grooms, was waiting: so we stood by 
the door we had just come out of, and waited too. By 



166 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and by they came, — the queen-mother and one of their 
daughters; and then the king, who was assisted into 
the carriage by the sculptor whom he had visited. The 
carriage was all open at the sides, and rather queer- 
looking. The king and queen sat on the back seat, so 
that his face was towards us ; and then he observed Mr. 
M. looking very pleasantly at him, and gave him a 
sweet smile. His manner was very affable; smiling 
upon and nodding very kindly to every one who had 
gathered round, the poor children of the street, &c. 
We were very glad to see him : for, when the children's 
papa was in Munich, King Lewis invited him to his 
palace, and treated him very kindly and handsomely ; 
for he thinks a great deal of his works. 

He is very much interested in every thing about art ; 
and, since he gave up the throne to his son, he spends 
all his time and money in improving the city, and giv- 
ing employment to the artists. He expends very little 
upon himself, being very simple, it seems, in all his 
habits, — so simple, Mr. M. told us, that there is 
no show inside of his palace, though it looks very 
handsome outside. But that, I suppose, is because 
he wishes the city to look handsome in all its 
buildings. 

We went into the palace of King Max, as he is 
called ; which is very handsome. In the throne-room 
are two long rows of kings, of colossal size, — larger 



VISIT TO MUNICH. 167 

than life. They seem to be of splendid gold ; but they 
are of bronze, gilded. They stand upon both sides 
up and down the long room. King Lewis had them 
arranged there ; and his object was, as he told his son, 
that all his "ancestors" might be witnesses "that 
nothing should be done, that no action should be com- 
mitted, in that room, unworthy of a king." In many 
of the rooms of the palace, the walls are beautifully 
painted with historical subjects. In one suite of 
rooms, there is the whole story of Ulysses and Telem- 
achus, — the wanderings of Telemachus in search of 
his father, his stopping at the Island of Calypso, 
&c. In these paintings, every figure is as large as, 
or larger than, life; and the whole of each wall is 
covered with them, as if they were one great pic- 
ture hung up. Thus they make a very elegant 
decoration. 

There is so much beautiful art — paintings and 
sculpture and architecture — all over the city of Mu- 
nich, that it is a delightful place to visit. There is 
always a feast for one's eyes ; fine public buildings 
with beautiful marble pillars, like those in ancient 
Greece ; and buildings even covered with paintings 
outside ; and the churches with splendid stained glass 
windows, — all very handsome. And there are great, 
noble grounds called the English Garden, in the midst 
of the city, with the River Iser running through it, — 



168 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the same river that is mentioned in Campbell's poem 
of " Hohen-Linden : " — 

" On Linden, when the sun was low, 
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow ; 
And dark as winter was the flow 
Of Iser rolling rapidly." 

This garden is a magnificent place of green lawns 
and groves and lakes and beautiful walks. It is a de- 
lightful place for children; and we went there with 
ours to enjoy the fresh air and luxuriant verdure. 

I must not forget to mention, in Munich, the shops 
filled with the beautiful Bohemian or Bavarian glass : 
for this vicinity is its native place ; that is, where it was 
originally made. Whole shops filled with it, of all 
rich and beautiful colors, and in all varieties of beauti- 
ful work, — how fascinating it was! We went there 
at every opportunity, just to look at the beautiful 
things. We would gladly have carried away many of 
them; but that was impossible: for, besides being very 
expensive, how could we, in travelling, manage to 
pack away and carry safe those splendid vases, and 
exquisite little cups and plates and pitchers, and all 
sorts of fanciful things ? Oh, no ! we could only look 
at them, and say how beautiful they were. Only, for 
a memento of the place, we could take some of the 
simplest little things. What superb punch-bowls, with 



VISIT TO MUNICH. 169 

the tiny, exquisite rose-colored glasses all around, 
and the beautiful green and purple and amber-colored 
objects! But no one can imagine, without seeing 
them, how handsome they are, all collected in the 
shops. 



170 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER XL 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 



Munich was our last stopping-place before taking 
the long journey to Florence, on our way back to 
Rome. We had expected to go to Milan : but that 
would be so tedious a journey for the children, that we 
took the easiest and shortest way that we could possi- 
bly go ; and that was by Vettura, across the Tyrol, by 
the cities of Innspruck, Verona, Mantua, Bologna, and 
Florence. 

We left Munich on Tuesday morning, the 13th of 
September, after having bidden farewell, quite sorrow- 
fully, to our good friend Mr. M. the night before, and 
put ourselves — four inside — into a very easy-going 
carriage. The maid, baby, and Josef had a comforta- 
ble seat in the little coupee in front ; and the dear baby 
was scarcely ever inside, which made it very much 
easier for us ; for she always became very restless inside 
the carriage. As it was to be so long a journey, — 
ten days in the vettura, day after day, — we had to 
take great pains not to get too tired in the beginning. 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 171 

Our regular routine was, to be called up every morn- 
ing at four o'clock, — good Josef taking upon him- 
self the responsibility of awakening us ; and then we 
got ourselves and the children dressed and equipped 
for the day. How good the children were, waked 
out of a sound sleep so early in the morning ! — they 
never made any trouble about it. Then we took 
breakfast, and at about six were in the carriage, and 
settled down for two or three hours of quiet napping 
or so, having risen so early. Then, with books, — 
Nannine and Gianina with their dolls, — we whiled 
away the time until towards twelve o'clock. The two 
girls had had and had used up more than one set of 
dolls during the summer, and at two or three different 
places their mamma had gratified an irresistible desire 
for some charming new one that they saw ; and now 
their pet dolls on the journey were some little German 
ones, with the heads, arms, and legs to move, which 
make them look so exactly like real babies, and only 
too natural. For the last few weeks, Nannine had 
been very impatient to get home to see her " Emmy," 
whom she left behind, and Gianina to see her " Ellen," 
— two great dolls which they had had for Christmas 
presents. When we came away, they had been rolled 
up in napkins, and packed away in the drawers, being 
too large to take on a journey. 

At twelve, we usually stopped for two hours, had a 



172 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

warm dinner at a hotel, set off again, and passed 
the time in an after-dinner nap, reading, looking at 
the scenery, telling stories, playing little games, &c; 
for we had a beautiful little box full of games, such as 
dominoes and checkers, which their mamma had pur- 
chased for the two girls at Munich, expressly for the 
journey. One of our amusements was making rhymes, 
— no matter how funny or ridiculous they were : two 
or three were put down on scraps of paper ; and here 
they are. 

We were passing by a sparkling little stream of 
water, looking so cool ; and I exclaimed, " If I could 
only have some to drink ! " Nannine, in a sweet way 
(and as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do), 
said, " If I had a cup, I would get you some." Upon 
that, this impromptu was made : — 

There's a pretty river flowing by, 
With water clear and blue ; 
And, if I only had a cup, 
I'd get a drink for you ! 

Well, Nina, there's a cottage near, 
And you might go and ask; 
And, if we could but get enough, 
We then might fill a cask ! 

The next was probably a fancy sketch, after the 
manner of Mother Goose: — 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 173 

There was a little bird singing on a tree, 
And I wished very much that he would come to me ; 
But he sat there, and sang, " Tweedy-dee-dee," 
And I was very happy to see him in such glee. 

But the wind it was high, and the tree it did rock; 
And I went and looked at the weather-cock : 
When I came back, I had such a shock ! 
For the poor little bird had fallen down on a rock! 

I ran to him quickly, and looked at his wing, 
Not thinking that ever again he could sing: 
I took him in my hands, the poor little thing ! 
And then some cherries to him I did bring. 

He opened his beak, and ate the sweet fruit ; 

And it seemed that it did him very well suit; 

For he uttered a note as clear as a lute ; 

And I thought, when I heard it, no one could him shoot ! 

The following, with the date, " Sept. 15, in the car- 
riage, on the road through the Tyrol," was for 
Nannine, who petted and cared for her doll as if it 
were a real child, and was as devoted to it morning 
and night as a real mamma: no pains could be too 
great for it: — 

My baby-doll is lying sweetly, 
Good and quiet, by my side : 
Mamma says she'll dress it neatly 
When we've finished this long ride. 



174 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Then I'll keep it clean and neat ; 
For it is my darling child ; 
And I love its face so sweet, 
And its gentle eyes so mild. 

I'll put it in its little bed 
When it wants to go to sleep, 
And let it rest its weary head ; 
And now and then I'll take a peep 

At its pretty, smiling face, 

And its tiny hands and feet, 

The cunning frock all trimmed with lace, 

And the little apron neat. 

And when it's had its quiet nap, 
And is all ready, then, to wake, 
I'll make a pleasant sugar-pap, 
And get a nice sweet little cake. 

And sometimes, when I go to walk, 
I'll take my darling dolly dear; 
And then we'll have a pretty talk 
About the sky that is so clear. 

But should there come a cloud, or fall 
Of rain, to hurt my little pet, 
I'll wrap her in a good warm shawl, 
That she may not, sure, get wet. 

Oh, how I love my baby-doll ! 
She gives me pleasure all the time: 
I like to sit and rock and loll, 
And sing her many a pretty rhyme. 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 175 

About seven, or half-past, we usually stopped for 
tlie night; but sometimes it was later: and once we 
rode until nine, Nannine and Gianina both going to 
sleep the last hour. We had an excellent driver and 
horses : and often, for hours at a time, we went almost 
as swiftly as the wind over the smooth road; for a 
great portion of the way was a perfect level. In that 
part of the Tyrol which belongs to Bavaria, and 
which was a whole day's ride from Munich, there were 
no hills at all ; but Austrian Tyrol was hilly and pic- 
turesque. There, one day, we met, as we were riding 
along, one of the prettiest sights, in the way of ani- 
mals, that we ever saw. It was a deer, — I suppose, 
an elk-deer, — harnessed into and drawing a lovely 
little light wagon made of wicker-work, — that is, all 
the upper portion, — in which a man and woman were 
seated, and travelling along very nicely. How 
elegantly the deer held up his head, showing to advan- 
tage his graceful, branching antlers ! It was a beauti- 
fully picturesque sight; and we all enjoyed it very 
much. 

We crossed the Brennen Pass, which is the lowest 
one into Italy, and stopped that night — the second — 
atJnnspruck, just in the corner of Austria; then came 
by Mauls (a little town in the Tyrol), Botzen, Trent, 
Roveredo; and the sixth day brought us to Verona. 
Here we stopped almost all the next day, as we 



176 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

could go from there to Mantua by railroad; and 
the carriage went on to the latter place, and waited 
for us there. 

On going out of the hotel at Verona to take a little 
walk, after we arrived, whom should we see but an 
old friend of mamma's from America ! She knew him 
by a side-view of his spectacles ! He was ever so glad 
t<5 see her, as she was to see him. He was standing in 
a doorway, chatting with his little bit of a niece. 
But, early in the morning, he and his party set off 
again on their journey; and we remained to see 
Verona. It is a fine old city, and has the most perfect 
little amphitheatre that there is remaining from an- 
cient times. It is circular, and like the Coliseum at 
Rome, only very much smaller ; and with the seats all 
around, rising one behind another, it shows us how fine 
and beautiful the Coliseum was in its best days. We 
went all over it, and sat on the seats; but we were 
glad not to see now such sights as they had in olden 
times, — the fights of wild beasts and gladiators. 

At five o'clock, p.m., we took the railway for Mantua, 
which was only twenty-six miles distant. In the cars 
we made a very pleasant acquaintance with a young 
English gentleman, who had a pretty little dog with 
him which interested our little girls very much, partic- 
ularly Gianina, who has a great passion for all young 
animals and pets. They (the gentleman and his dog) 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 177 

and we were the only occupants of our car; and each 
party was very curious to find out who the other was, 
whether English or American, both speaking the same 
language. We thought we should discover, by some 
particular word or other, whether he was an American 
or an Englishman ; and he, as he afterwards confessed, 
was putting us to the same test. But only just before 
we arrived did we find each other out ! 

Also just before we arrived at the last way-station, 
when we were just ready to start again, the pretty dog 
jumped out of the window ; and it was too late to re- 
cover him. We were so sorry both for him and his 
master ! but we hoped that he might in some way go 
on with the train ; get into the baggage-car, perhaps. 
When we arrived at Mantua, however, and descended 
from the cars, he was nowhere to be seen ; and the 
gentleman sent back word to make inquiries about him. 
We parted here from our new acquaintance ; but we 
met him again at Bologna and Florence, and he had 
found his dog. He had remained quietly at the station 
where he had escaped until sent for ; which we thought 
quite sagacious, or prudent at least, in the little 
animal. 

It was almost or quite dark before we reached the 

hotel in Mantua; so that we had no time to walk out, 

as we always liked to do in every place where we 

stopped. We retired early too, that we might be up 

12 



178 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

for an earlier start than usual ; for we had heard that 
there had been banditti lately on the very road we 
were to travel the next day, — the road to Modena. 
We wished, therefore, to avoid being late in the even- 
ing, lest we might be attacked, as the diligence had 
been ; for, a little while after leaving Modena, some 
banditti had come up, and fatally wounded the con- 
ductor of the diligence, taking from a bride and bride- 
groom, who were the only passengers, every thing they 
had with them. There are many stories of such ban- 
ditti, or mountain-robbers, in Italy ; but we never 
thought that we should ever fall in with any of 
them, for we supposed they had almost all disap- 
peared in these days : but now here they were, or 
had just been, on the very road we were going to 
travel ! 

So we were called up at half-past three in the morn- 
ing, before daylight; so early, that it seemed surprising 
that good faithful Josef could have been awake to 
arouse us all: but it seemed as if he scarcely ever 
slept; he was always so ready for every thing day 
or night. We took breakfast, and set out at about 
half-past five, and arrived at Modena before dark, 
without meeting with a single adventure, except cross- 
ing the wide River Po in a ferry (if that may be called 
one), "no hair-breadth escape" at all, and never once 
coming in sight of a highway robber. 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 179 

At Modena, we were driven to an immensely large 
hotel, which was once, perhaps, a great palace. It may 
have been the one, or like it, where poor Ginevra was 
shut down in the oaken chest; for this is the city 
where that sad event took place, — of the young bride 
hiding away in an old chest, and being shut in by the 
spring-lock fastening close upon her. 

This is the story as told by the poet Rogers : — 

" Great was the joy: but at the bridal feast, 
When all sat down, the bride was wanting there; 
Nor was she to be found ! Her father cried, 
4 'Tis but to make a trial of our love,' 
And filled his glass to all; but his hand shook: 
And soon from guest to guest the panic spread. 
'Twas but that instant she had left Francesco, 
Laughing and looking back and flying still, 
Her ivory tooth imprinted on his finger 1 
But now, alas ! she was not to be found ; 
Nor from that hour could any thing be guessed 
But that she was not. 



Full fifty years were past, and all forgot, 

When on an idle day, — a day of search, - 

'Mid the old lumber in the gallery, 

That mouldering chest was noticed; and 'twas said 

By one as young and thoughtless as Ginevra, 

* Why not remove it from its lurking-place? ' 

'Twas done as soon as said; but on the way 

It burst, it fell; and, lo! a skeleton, 

With here and there a pearl, an emerald-stone, 

A golden clasp clasping a shred of gold. 



180 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

All else had perished save a nuptial ring, 
And a small seal, her mother's legacy, 
Engraven with a name, — the name of both, — 
* Ginevra.' " 

Poor Ginevra! We would not like to think that 
any thing so sad had taken place in the great house 
where we stopped; but certainly it looked deserted 
enough. There appeared to be no other travellers 
there, and we were led about through many circuitous 
passages, the rooms all empty on either side as it 
seemed to us ; but at last we came to a pleasant suite 
of rooms, which looked quite cosey and comfortable. 
In these we were established for the night : but it was 
not yet quite sunset; so we had time to go out to 
walk, and see the tall and beautiful Campanile, or bell- 
tower, in which hangs a bucket, which was once, some 
hundreds of years ago, the cause of a war between 
the cities of Modena and Bologna. When we came 
back to the hotel, as the day had been very warm, we 
made our supper on nothing but ice-cream. 

The next day we dined at Bologna, and had such 
an elegant dinner! How much Nannine, especially, 
enjoyed the splendid fruit, — the delicious plums, apri- 
cots, and pears ! She would hardly eat any thing else. 
We had only time after dinner to go and see the two 
famous leaning towers. These, and the one we had 
just seen at Modena, and the Leaning Tower at Pisa, 



JOURNEY TO FLORENCE. 181 

were built during the middle ages, when there were 
many wars between the different cities ; and are quite 
different from any built in these times. They are very 
tall, picturesque, and interesting. 

After passing through the Tyrol, and before coming 
to Verona, the great Lombardy Plains had com- 
menced, another part of which we had crossed in 
going into Switzerland; and they continued until we 
reached Bologna. The country was perfectly level all 
the way from Verona to Mantua, and from there to Mo- 
dena, and thence to Bologna. We seemed only to be 
riding through innumerable fields of corn and grapes. 
The grape-vines climbed around the trunks of the 
trees, which were planted in rows between the different 
fields. But at Bologna, which is situated at the foot 
of the Apennines, the country became hilly; and, in- 
stead of taking the usual road over the mountains, 
we took another, which brought us to Pistoia, only 
twenty or tweny-five miles' distance from Florence, 
where we arrived at four o'clock on the afternoon 
of the tenth day. But so tired and faint! for we 
had stopped the night before at a poor osteria /* and 
the bread and butter which was given us for supper 
was so poor, that we could not eat it. We felt so 
sorry for the poor people who had to live upon 
it! The butter tasted exactly like mutton - tallow ; 

* A small tavern. 



182 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and the bread — I cannot describe it. We smoothed 
over as well as we could our want of appetite, for we 
did not wish to hurt the feelings of the poor people ; 
and in the morning we came away without asking 
for any breakfast, and without the nice bathing which 
we had had every morning, and which had kept us all 
so fresh and comfortable. We took a late breakfast 
somewhere else ; and at Pistoia we had a nice dinner 
in a nice little room, but scarcely time to eat it ; for we 
had to hasten to the cars, which were to carry us the 
rest of the way to Florence. In about two hours we 
were there, to our great delight ; but so fatigued, that 
we did nothing after supper but take a famously large 
bath, each of us, children and all, and retire to bed. 

The next day, we scarcely went out of the house. 
We had got on nicely all through the journey, none 
of us giving out until the tenth and last day; and 
that, I suppose, was owing to the poor fare, or no fare, 
of the night before, — no supper and no breakfast. We 
had had splendid weather all the way : the children 
had been very good; and little Memie had got so 
used to travelling, that, all the first day after arriving 
in Florence, she was asking to go to the " carozza." 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 183 



CHAPTER XII. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 



Wednesday Evening, Sept. 28. 

We have been a week in Florence, and have seen 
the principal sights. First the grand Fitti Palace, 
the residence of the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; but the 
large gallery of beautiful pictures in it is open to 
the public. Here is the loveliest of all pictures, — Ra- 
phael's "Madonna della Sedia." It is the original pic- 
ture, but as fair and fresh as if just painted, although 
Raphael lived more than three hundred years ago. He 
died in 1520, just a hundred years before the Pilgrim 
Fathers landed in New England. It hangs on the wall 
with hundreds of other elegant pictures ; but there are 
none that you would think as beautiful, with the sweet, 
heavenly face of the child, and the gentle but happy 
woman's look of the mother. 

Another beautiful picture to look at in this gallery 
is one of Titian's, who was, perhaps, the next great- 
est painter after Raphael. It is the " Marriage of St. 
Catherine." She has a very sweet countenance, and 
is holding the infant Saviour in her arms. An elderly 



184 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

woman and a young girl are on one side, caressing the 
child ; and the little John, a beautiful little figure, 
kneeling, and pointing to the infant, is on the other. 
How much we liked to look at these and all the other 
fine paintings ! 

Florence is famed for its many and beautiful pic- 
tures, as Rome is for its many and beautiful sculptures. 

There is another splendid gallery of paintings in 
this city, the Uffizii Palace, in which is one room most 
enchantingly beautiful. This is called " The Tribune ; " 
and, besides some elegant pictures, it contains the cele- 
brated Venus de Medicis, a very lovely ancient statue. 

There is another hall containing ancient sculptures, 
among which is the celebrated group of Niobe and 
her children, who were struck by the arrows of Apollo. 
These figures are not placed together, however, in a 
group : they are arranged separately around the room. 
They all have a suffering and terror-stricken look ; but 
I believe that only one of them is represented as actu- 
ally dying or dead * 

The cathedral of the city is the grand and famous 
Duomo, which is very peculiar, — quite different from 
any other building. The interior is fine, with arches 
and richly-stained windows. The baptistery, where 
all the baptisms take place, instead of in the church, 

* See the companion volume, — Fairies of our Garden: Roman Sto- 
ries. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 185 

is another building close beside it. This building has 
some very celebrated bronze doors. They are sculp- 
tured, or carved, with picture-like scenes. The innu- 
merable figures are small, but beautifully done. By 
the side of the Duomo and baptistery stands also a tall, 
beautiful campanile, or bell-tower. 

For beautiful walks in Florence, there are the elegant 
Boboli Gardens, which belong to the Pitti Palace, and 
the Cascini, — splendid grounds, where everybody goes 
for a promenade, or to drive in the afternoons. A band 
often plays there, which makes it very pleasant. 

To all these pleasant places, and many others, we 
had been during the week : and at last we were be- 
lated in packing for our homeward journey; so that 
some of us were obliged to sit up until twelve o'clock 
at night. 

Good Josef had become so used to calling us early 
while travelling, that I suppose he thought we must 
always be up by half-past three or four in the morning; 
and he waked us at that early hour. There was no 
need of it, however; for we did not set out until 
seven. 

We went to Sienna by railway, three hours distant 
from Florence ; and thence we were to travel day and 
night in the diligence until we reached home, which 
we hoped to do in twenty-six or twenty-seven hours. 



186 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

But we found we had to stop at Sienna all that day, 
and could not take the diligence until evening. This 
gave us time for going about the city. In the 
cathedral we were shown some splendidly illuminated 
copies of the Bible, some hundreds of years old. The 
large letters at the beginning of the chapters and 
verses were most richly and beautifully painted. The 
printing of some of the copies was done elegantly, by 
hand, before the art of printing from types was in- 
vented. 

Oh, how industrious and unwearied must the old 
monks have been, who in their cells and monasteries, 
day after day, copied, word by word, and letter by 
letter, the great volume of the Bible ! for in such a 
way only was it multiplied in the beginning. Had it 
not been for these monks and other learned men copy- 
ing it from time to time for their own use, or for that 
of the churches and convents, the sacred volume might 
have been lost or destroyed in the dark ages, when 
learning was neglected, and barbarism and ignorance 
prevailed over almost all Europe, — we might say, 
over all the world ; since Europe was the most enlight- 
ened portion of the world at that time, America not 
having even been discovered. Certainly we owe a 
debt of gratitude to those useful men, who, in their 
quiet cells, or retirement, preserved what learning they 
could, and by their devoted labor and industry were 



STAY IJST FLORENCE. 187 

enabled to hand down the holy Bible to other times. 
Now, since printing was invented (and it is multi- 
plied by millions of copies every year) , the Bible will 
forever remain the seed, the plant, the book, to Chris- 
tianize, civilize, and enlighten the world.* . . . 

At eight o'clock in the evening we were all ready 
for the diligence, and we set out. The children, of 
course, soon went to sleep; but at every post, in 
changing horses, which was about every hour, they 
regularly awoke. They were perfectly quiet and good, 
and always dropped off to sleep again. We went 
very rapidly, — often ten or twelve miles an hour; 
and during the night, the way being an ascent, we had 
sometimes seven, eight, and nine horses attached. In 
the morning, we stopped half an hour at Acquapen- 
dente, a town on the Campagna, for breakfast; and 
there the maid Lolla had an opportunity to make a 
little call upon an aunt of hers who was living there. 
We did not stop again during the day ; but Josef had 
provided for a lunch of cold chicken &c., in the stage. 

The country here was very different from the rich 

* Philosophers sometimes discuss the question as to whether " civili- 
zation" or " Christianity" should or does naturally come first. But 
we know that people who have not had a true idea of the Deity have 
never become thoroughly civilized and enlightened. The Bible, both 
the Old and New Testament, is the only book from which we obtain a 
correct knowledge of God : therefore it must be the great source of truly 
enlightening, civilizing, and Christianizing the world. 



188 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

green hills and fields of the cooler places in which we 
had been so long travelling; for the hills were bare 
and barren, the grass being dried from the heat of the 
long summer. But as we came in sight of the lake, 
which was called " Thrasymene " in Hannibal's time, the 
scene was finer and prettier. It is a large lake, and 
was a long time in view. 

We rode on. Eight, ten o'clock in the evening 
came ; but still no gates of Rome appeared. At 
eleven we arrived at the city, and found the Porta del 
Popolo* barred and locked! ^ It was soon opened, 
however. We found no one awaiting us, as we had 
expected ; but somebody had been waiting until about 
three-quarters of an hour before, when they had given 
us up, and gone home ! So we had no lascia passare, 
as we had hoped, and were obliged to go to the Do- 
ganaf instead; and it was twelve o'clock before we 
were at liberty to go. We then put ourselves into a 
hack (leaving the luggage), and, arriving on our own 
piazza, had the satisfaction of seeing, right before our 
eyes, the last light in the house put out ! but there was 
one awaiting us, as we found, in the portone. We 
aroused the son of the porter, who, after waiting to 

* The gate of the city which you enter from the Florence Road. 

f The Custom House. A lascia passare is a paper, or permit, 
allowing one to pass without undergoing an examination at the Cus- 
tom House. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 189 

dress himself, came down to let us in ; then we crept 
softly up the long stairs, and tried to find the key under 
the doorway, where it was always placed at night. 
But by that time Josef's heavy boots came tramping up 
the stairway; and we soon heard, called out from the 
hall inside, "Chi'e, chi'e?" Then mamma and the 
children set up such a clapping, and shouting " Papa, 
papa!" 

Such was our reception after a four-months' absence 
from home, — every one abed, doors locked! But 
we had a delightful welcome, nevertheless : all were so 
happy to see us ! The whole house was soon aroused, 
— the servants, and the porter's family, — and a 
supper prepared, of cold chicken, &c. The night 
before, it had been all ready in fine style ; and 
they sat up until twelve o'clock, expecting us. Papa 
had gone out in a carriage at four o'clock to meet us, 
and staid until ten. 

The first thing Nannine and Gianina did, after being 
so warmly welcomed, — before they could think of 
going to bed, although it was past midnight, — was 
to go and take "Emmy" and "Ellen" from the 
drawers in which they had been snugly packed away, 
and give them a hearty kiss and embracing. 

They have had a whole week of holidays since, and 
they carry around the two great dolls most faithfully 
every day. 



190 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



FOURTH YEAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

THINGS AT HOME. 

October. 

This last week we have done almost nothing but 
"put things to rights." We have now every thing 
nicely arranged, and to-morrow we begin lessons 
again. 

However, poor Gianina has again had the chills and 
fever since returning ; and we do not know how she 
will go on through the winter. But the homoeopathic 
physician says that he can cure her in three days; 
that he has been enabled to cure the worst forms of 
the disease. Hers is the terziana, which is worse than 
the daily fever, although it occurs only every three 
days. We are in hopes that he will succeed in his 
treatment. 

All the children now practise dancing a little every 
morning after breakfast, their mamma playing for 



THINGS AT HOME. 191 

them on the piano. They have never taken dancing- 
lessons ; but they make up for themselves all sorts of 
pretty figures and attitudes, — even little Memie. It 
looks very cunning to see her trying to do as her sis- 
ters do. 

Memie is quite roguish sometimes. To-day, after 
dinner, she asked for a piece of cheese to give the cat, 
whose name is Moro. When she found that a nice 
bit was given her, she said, "Moro didn't want it; 5 ' 
and she put it into her own mouth instead! When 
she wishes to do something which she has been told 
she must not do, she asks everybody to " go away, and 
not look." All this she says in Italian ; but she is 
beginning now to learn English. Her papa thinks she 
is old enough ; so he makes her repeat something after 
him every day. It seems very strange for a little 
child only two and a half years old to be learning an- 
other language. But she makes out quite well ; for she 
is very ambitious to say every thing that she hears her 
sisters say in English in their play ; and she admires 
to repeat a good deal that they say, although she does 
not know what it means. She sounds just like a little 
foreigner, when she tries to speak in that manner. 
She has learned enough to know that an English ques- 
tion should have an English answer: so, whatever 
question may be asked her in English, she always an- 
swers " Yes," whether understanding it or not. If she 



192 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

sometimes begins to answer with the Italian si, she 
will correct herself, and say " Yes ." It sounds very 
cunning. To-day I showed her little Anna's daguer- 
rotype, which we have just received from America, 
and made her pronounce the name, Anna. ... It 
was a pretty big mouthful for her ; but, by speaking 
slowly, she managed it very well. 

This daguerrotype of little Anna is exceedingly 
funny. She was very unwilling to sit for it ; and the 
artist, to persuade her, had told her to try and see a 
little kitten in the instrument. So her little hands are 
all spread before her forehead, to shade her eyes; and 
her whole little face is drawn up into such a comical 
yet earnest expression, that it makes us laugh heartily 
every time we look at it. It amuses the children very 
much, her trying to see a kitten ; and their papa says, 
"She is looking for one with each end of her five 
fingers ! " 

Another daguerrotype that came is of Anna's little 
baby brother Tommy. He is sucking his chubby fist, 
which delights Nannine ; and she only wishes she had 
a baby brother just like him. 

Little Anna was at this time large enough to begin 
to sew; and she had made some neat little thread 
bags, which were sent with the daguerrotypes : then 
the following letter was written in acknowledg- 
ment: — 



THINGS AT HOME. 193 

Nov. 29. 

Dearest little Anna, — I was very glad to 
receive the little letter from you, and the sweet little 
bags. You were very good to make them for me, and 
you sewed them very nicely. . . . 

Nannine and Gianina and baby are quite well. 
Gianina has gone to-day to take dinner with our good 
minister, Mr. B., because he is very fond of her, 
and likes to have her come. Baby goes out to walk 
every day, and can walk nicely; for she is very fat 
and strong. She has a pretty little bird in a cage in 
her room. It has yellow wings and a red head. She 
likes to see it hanging up in its cage, and sometimes 
she wants to take it in her hands. 

Gianina has a pretty canary-bird in her room. 
When it first came, it seemed rather lonely ; and so her 
mamma bought a little looking-glass and put it in the 
cage, and then he appeared quite happy. He hops to 
the glass, and looks in; and he thinks, I suppose, that 
he has a little friend and companion with him. He 
sings very beautifully, and is as lively as he can be. 

But he has a real little visitor these few days past, 
another canary, in a cage close beside him ; and they 
are very happy together. The new bird belongs to lit- 
tle Edith . She was taken sick, and others of her 

family also; so that the poor little bird, for two or three 
days, was almost forgotten. He had no fresh water, 

13 



194 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and no seed to eat ; and, when the children's mamma 
went to their house, she found the bird very lonely and 
sad. She cleaned out his cage, gave him some water, 
sent to buy some new seed for him, and hung up his 
cage in the parlor window, in the pleasant sun. When 
we were walking out the next morning, and passed by 
the house, we saw him still there : but there was no 
one in the house to take care of him ; for little Edith 
was taken sick in another house where she was stay- 
ing, and her papa and mamma had gone there to take 
care of her. So the children's mamma sent a man to 
get the cage, and bring it to our house, that Gianina 
might take care of the little creature with her little 
bird ; and, when Edith gets well, we shall send it home 
again. . . . Good-by! 

A sad event took place this autumn, which made us 
all very sorry. The account of it is contained in the 
following letter to a young boy, written a few weeks 
afterwards : — 

Rome, Jan. 2. 

Dear G., — I promised some time ago to send you 
an account of the balloon ascension that was to take 
place here ; but the end of it was so very sad, that I 
hardly like to write about it. 

When we returned to Rome, on the 1st of October, 
we found preparations making for the ascension, on the 
Square, right in front of our house. Thus we should 



THINGS AT HOME. 195 

have a fine time, we thought, seeing it ; and it was to 
take place very soon. 

In two or three weeks, the day was appointed, and 
the gas was made, and the balloon was partly filled 
during the night. When we arose in the morning, we 
saw it swinging backward. and forward, looking very 
large and fine. 

The afternoon came, and many persons were assem- 
bled on the Square. The old gentleman who was to 
go up (he was about sixty) was very busy. The para- 
chute was filled with flowers, which he was to scatter 
after he should have risen, in the balloon, over the spec- 
tators. At length he entered, and some of the -ropes 
which held the balloon were unfastened ; but it would 
not rise more than two or three feet from the platform 
on which it was placed. 

They tried it repeatedly. They threw every thing 
out ; but it would not ascend : there had not been gas 
enough to fill it completely. So the crowd had to 
disperse, disappointed. 

Several weeks passed, and the old man was feeling 
very badly ; for he was obliged to attempt it a second 
time, according to his agreement. But there seemed 
to be no day on which he could be allowed to do it, as 
there were other* shows taking place in the mean time. 
In this country, they always wish for a festival day 
for any thing of the kind; because, of course, more 



196 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

spectators will assemble on those days. This man had 
been engaged by a committee to make two balloon 
ascensions in October, for the entertainment of the 
people, as, during that month, they always have public 
exhibitions of some kind. But October passed, and he 
had no opportunity to make a second trial. At length 
a day was again appointed, and the balloon was to be 
sent up from the same place, — the Square, in front of 
our house. 

The hogsheads in which the gas was made were 
filled with old rusty iron, — a cartload, — that there 
might be an abundance ; and water and sulphuric acid 
were added. The gas was then conveyed by means 
of pipes and a hose into the balloon. In the morning, 
we saw it from our windows again, all fully extended, 
and moving about very buoyantly. 

Three o'clock came, a crowd of spectators also. No 
flowers were taken this time, and no ballast. After a 
little preparation, the old gentleman entered, the cords 
were cut, and the balloon rose beautifully, like a shot ; 
so quickly, that, in less than ten minutes, it had entirely 
disappeared among the clouds overhead. One of our 
friends happened to be on Monte Mario, which is two 
miles from the Square, and saw the balloon pass. He 
said then that the man would "freeze in those clouds;" 
that he would " never come down alive." It was too 
true a prediction. 



THINGS AT HOME. 197 

The balloon fell about twenty miles from Rome, and 
the poor old gentleman was indeed dead. They tried 
every means to re-animate him: they took him to the 
hospital, and put him in a warm bath ; but he never 
recovered. 

It is thought that he may have died from the too 
sudden transition. He had, perhaps, not anticipated 
ascending so rapidly ; and it was probably imprudent 
to have taken out all the ballast beforehand. It is 
supposed that he had time to open the valves, and let 
off the gas ; for when he was last seen, through a tele- 
scope, as he entered the clouds, he was pulling at the 
cords of the valve. 

It made us all feel very sorrowful to hear of this sad 
termination of the day's pleasure. You may, perhaps, 
have read such accounts before; but I had never 
heard of loss of life in a balloon in consequence of 
cold. 



198 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER II. 



WESTER AND SPRING. 



During the latter part of the time that we were in 
Switzerland the weather had been quite cool, and 
especially while we were in Munich. There we often 
had to wear cloaks in driving out; and the children's 
mamma got some nice warm ones for them to wear on 
their journey home and all winter. They were 
very neat and pretty, — gray, with plain blue velvet 
trimming put simply around. They were all alike for 
each of the three little girls, and though made warm 
and substantial, for a cooler climate, they would be 
very serviceable at home too, we thought ; for some- 
times the cold tramontana wind blows very keenly in 
Rome during the winter. Yet, notwithstanding it 
was so cool when we left Switzerland, we found, when 
we returned to Rome early in October, that the sun 
was still excessively hot when we were exposed to it 
even for a moment. But the winter afterwards was 
very wet. It rained and rained a great deal; and, 
during a fortnight in the present month (February), the 



WINTER AND SPRING. 199 

weather was exceedingly cold. The fountains were 
ornamented with long, substantial icicles that would 
do credit to New England ; and one night there was a 
little flurry of snow, so that some patches of the gar- 
den-walks were quite white for an hour or more in the 
morning. 

Carnival came in the midst of this cold, windy 
weather, — for there was a north wind almost all the 
time, — so that there was no temptation to go into the 
Corso ; and scarcely any of the family went at all. 

We were congratulating ourselves in the thought, 
that, when this cold spell should be over, spring would 
begin in earnest ; for the almond-trees and laurustinus 
were already in bloom. And now I would like to 
transfer to you the soft air we have been having to- 
day (Feb. 25), and the chirping of the birds, of which 
the hedges and trees are so full, that it sounds as if 
there were a yard near, filled with young chickens. 

The children have had a sort of influenza, which has 
kept them in the house ; but this morning — the first 
time we have been out for three days — we spent two 
hours in the garden, really enjoying the spring-like 
feeling of the air, so fresh and mild. It is very unusual 
for any of the family to be kept in the house, even by 
a cold ; and we make a point of going out once a day 
at least. The atmosphere without is generally so in- 
viting, that we should feel almost like prisoners did we 



200 ' CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

stay in the house all day : therefore we always go out 
in the afternoons, if we have not been out in the 
morning. 

The doctor cured Gianina of the fever, as he had 
promised to do ; but he said we must be very careful 
of her for forty days. She is now perfectly well, ex- 
cepting the effects of the influenza which she has just 
been having. (She never had a recurrence of the fever 
during all the remaining seasons in Rome.) Being 
extravagantly fond of young animals, Gianina has this 
winter a pretty little dog, Frisky, whom it is her de- 
light to pet ; and this morning, in the garden, we had 
a great frolic with him. We discovered a solitary 
bright-yellow orange under a tree ; all the rest having 
been gathered. Taking it to be one of the bitter 
oranges, not very good for eating, we picked it up, and 
threw it along the gravel-walk for Frisky to catch. 

He ran in great glee, and took it in his mouth, and, 
with us after him, raced along the avenues, and round 
and round the garden, through all the alleys; scam- 
pering over the beds and through the openings in 
the hedges. As he ran faster than we, he would stop 
and turn round every few paces, with the orange still 
in his mouth, and with such a roguish look, waiting for 
us to come up. Sometimes he would drop it, and lie 
down by the side of it ; but, as soon as he should see 
us quite near, he would catch it up, and scamper off 



WINTER AND SPRING. 201 

again with all his might. At last, when we were fairly- 
tired out, and had sat down to rest, he dug a hole in 
the ground, and put the orange in, covering it up 
entirely, and went away. Afterwards he came back, 
scented it out, scratched away the earth, took it up 
again, and we had another race for it. We thought 
it quite a bit of sagacity in the dog burying the 
orange, although he did it right before our eyes ! 

He is a young dog, only a puppy, though a pretty 
large one ; and is so full of sport, that he plays all sorts 
of mischievous tricks. He will probably have to be 
sent away. What should he do one day but get 
mamma's best bonnet, which she had just laid down 
after coming in from walking, and toss it all about the 
room before any one knew it and could take it away ! 
He is too troublesome ; but it would almost break the 
children's hearts to have him sent away. 

The two girls have been to a children's party at a 
friend's house, where there was a funny exhibition 
of a dressed-up dog. He had a regular little suit of 
clothes, and stood upon his hind-legs, and walked 
round, and shook hands for " good-evening." Then a 
night-gown was put upon him, and a grandmamma's 
cap ; and he lay down in bed like anybody ! An 
American lady-artist had trained him to all this. 

Another friend of ours has always some little pet- 
dog, — almost the smallest little creature possible, — 



202 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY, 

which she trains to be as obedient as a child. It is 
wonderful to see how perfectly and instantly he obeys 
her. She is not obliged to raise her voice at all: 
she addresses him as naturally and quietly as if it were 
a child she was speaking to. The dog she has now 
is named Jenny. So she says, "Jenny, get down out 
of the chair ! " " Stay there, Jenny ; and do not come 
after me ! " He minds her as perfectly as if he were a 
human being. And what is most wonderful is, that 
although he always goes to walk with her on week- 
days, and seems to depend upon it, so that he is half 
crazy if she goes without him, he seems to know by 
instinct when Sunday comes, and that she is going to 
church ; and never makes the least attempt to follow 
her, but allows her to go, as submissively and obedi- 
ently as possible ! If children were always as obedient, 
how fine it would be ! 

I must tell you also of our pet Moro, the big black 
cat for which Memie asked the bit of cheese. He is 
a splendid creature, very intelligent and gentle, and 
very playful too. The children make a great pet of 
him ; and their papa is very fond of him, and pets him 
as if he were a dog. He allows him to come into the 
room when we are at dinner, and even to climb up on 
the back of our chairs, and put his soft paws on our 
shoulders, asking for something to eat. He is never 
refused, or turned away; so that he has come to be very 



WINTER AND SPRING. 203 

familiar: but he is so dignified and sensible, and knows 
so well how to behave, that he does not make himself 
de trop, or come when he is not wanted. 

On Valentine's Day, our little girls went to a party at 
our friend Mrs. C.'s, who has one or two children's parties 
every year, on birthdays and other occasions ; for there 
are two boys and a little sister, who like very much to 
collect all their young friends together, and have fine 
times in games, &c. The boys — how ingenious they 
are in doing all sorts of things ! They cut figures out 
of paper, without a pattern, exquisitely ; and can do 
all kinds of fancy painting, and get up pretty little 
figures, and make them act comedy ; and among their 
in-door accomplishments are even knitting and em- 
broidery. They can knit a purse, or embroider a pair 
of useful slippers, once in a while, for a Christmas pres- 
ent to a friend ! But, besides all this, they have their 
daily tasks of work and study, and are as brave, manly, 
and stout-hearted as any boys we know. 

Their little sister M. often dresses at these par- 
ties in an Albanese costume, and looks very sweet 
indeed. The family usually spend the summer at Al- 
bano; and there they became acquainted with the 
young princesses B., whose summer villa was close by, 
and who were very friendly with them: now they 
are generally invited, and attend these little parties. 
They are vpry pleasing young ladies. The elder is very 



204 CIIILD-LIFfi IN ITALY. 

tall for her age, — - not yet fifteen, — and very graceful; 
and has the most sweet and unaffected manners, but 
very dignified. The younger appears very amiable, 
but is very delicate and shy. They seem to enjoy 
very much joining in our games. We have all sorts 
of frolics. I say " we," for the boys always want some 
help; and I usually take hold and assist in getting 
up their games. We have the "flower game," and 
"old coach," and "hunt the slipper," and "handkerchief 
burns," and "hunt the squirrel," and some of the games 
we saw in Switzerland, and many others : in fact, it is 
just like a child's party in America. 

The C.'s like much also to come to our house, 
sometimes all three ; but more often one or other of 
the boys comes alone. They have fine times playing 
with Gianina and Nannine. They have a long piece 
of twine extended between two chairs, and call it a 
telegraph ; and letters — real paper — are sent back 
and forth upon it very briskly. This is a favorite 
amusement with them all. 

March, — We have been dressing a pretty doll for 
little M. C, who has been lately dangerously ill. 
She is better now; and we thought a new, fresh doll 
would help to amuse her and occupy her while she is 
confined to her room. Nannine went with me to 
carry it to-day, and she stopped there all the afternoon. 

March 18. — To-day we have been having a regu- 



WINTER AND SPRING. 205 

lar overturn of affairs. Our sleeping-room has been 
changed, Nannine's and mine; and our beds have 
been removed to the blue-room, — a room papered and 
curtained with blue. The front window looks out 
upon the Piazza, and the other upon the great ruins of 
the old baths, and over the green garden-beds of the 
villa, and upon the Campagna and the Sabine Hills. 

The room is very lofty and spacious ; and when the 
large window which looks upon the beautiful views is 
wide open (for it opens like a door), and the golden 
sunshine pours in, it seems very airy and splendid. 

In the midst of the commotion of moving, we had 
no lessons ; and Nannine and Gianina went with me 
down street shopping, in pursuit of a silk dress. We 
took a long walk, passed the Pantheon, and stopped to 
look at the excavations which are being made around 
it ; for lately they have been tearing down some houses 
that were adjoining, and which had partly concealed it 
on one side. 

This is an ancient building, and is always an inter- 
esting place to visit. It was built even before the time 
of our Saviour, — twenty-six years ; and the name of 
the builder, Agrippa, is still remaining in an inscrip- 
tion over the entrance. 

First comes a fine portico with grand stone columns. 
When you have passed through this, and enter the 
building, you find it to be circular and lofty, with a 



206 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

dome, open at the top, through which all the light 
comes ; for there is no other window. It is so fine and 
interesting to look up, and see the open sky far over 
your head ! But the rain also comes down when it 
showers, and sometimes the mosaic pavement below is 
wet with it. This was a temple dedicated to all the 
gods, as its name, " pan-theon," signifies ; and around 
the walls are rows of niches regularly placed, where 
the marble statues of the divinities * formerly stood. 
But these were removed, of course, when Rome be- 
came Christian ; and it is now a church where mass is 
daily performed (for all the churches here are Roman- 
Catholic) ; and, whenever you enter, you may generally 
see some one kneeling before one of the various 
altars. 

In this church is the tomb of Raphael ; for he was 
buried in Rome, where he spent the last twelve years 
of his life. In this city, too, it was that he painted so 
many wonderful works, — great pictures covering whole 
walls of rooms in the Pope's palace of the Vatican, and 
many other beautiful paintings besides, which are now 
the delight of all travellers. 

But we did not stop long at the Pantheon now : we 
went into the shop of a silk-manufacturer, which is 
close by. The children's mamma had lately seen a 

* For some account of these deities, and the change to Christianity, 
see Fairies of our Garden : Roman Stories. 



WINTER AND SPRING. 207 

dress there which she thought would just suit our pur- 
pose ; but to our regret it was gone, and there were 
no others that were quite what we wished for. They 
make silks dress by dress, as they are ordered ; and 
there was no more of the same kind. I inquired how 
long it would take to make one. Eight, ten, twelve 
days, according to the pattern, was the answer. 

On our return, we stopped at two other principal 
shops ; but the silks were generally so exceedingly ex- 
pensive, or so extremely handsome, that they were not 
what we wanted. In fine, we did not see a single one 
just right. We were searching for a Marie-Louise blue 
plaided silk. 

JVbta bene. — A week afterwards, after another long 
walk, we found a dress, — exactly what we wished. 

When we returned at noon, the moving was through : 
but bureaus had been changed all round, and every 
drawer was emptied of its contents ; and the afternoon 
was spent in re-arranging them. 



208 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER III. 



REVIEW OF THE WINTER. 



During the winter, the lessons of the two girls went 
on regularly as usual ; and they made very good pro- 
gress in them. Gianina now read Italian as well as 
English, and was studying French, and learning very 
well. 

Nannine's fine practice in French during the sum- 
mer in Switzerland was of great advantage to her, as 
she now read it with facility; although, even before we 
went to Switzerland, she was in the habit of taking 
up little French books, and reading them with great 
pleasure. Her papa, at one time, brought her from 
Paris the " Arabian Nights," in three large volumes, in 
French, which, for a long time, were her great delight. 
She became, however, much excited, devouring them 
day and night almost, though it is true she retired 
early: but they were placed by her bedside; and, the 
first thing on waking in the morning, they were in her 
hands, and were scarcely out of them again at any 
leisure moment during the day. Her papa and mam- 
ma thought all this too much excitement for her, and 



REVIEW OF THE WINTER. 209 

that she had better give them up for a while : so she 
brought the great volumes forward, and had them laid 
away, to come out fresh again some other time. 

In our morning walks, after we returned from Swit- 
zerland, we formed the habit, Nannine and myself, of 
speaking French together, instead of English, that we 
might continue the practice of it until our neighbor 
Carlotta, the young Italian girl who invited us to the 
school exhibition, joined us ; and then we used Italian 
with her. She had no companion to go out with 
so early, and was very glad to go with us to walk. 
We were very much pleased to have her ; and some- 
times her sister, who is a young lady, went also. They 
are very amiable and agreeable. They live very quietly 
at home, their father scarcely wishing them to go into 
the street at all; and they never do so unless their 
mother or some friend goes with them. But they do 
so enjoy walking out, it is a great pleasure to have 
them go with us. 

. It is not the custom in these cities for any lady to go 
alone in the streets ; but, if she has even only a small 
child for a companion, she can go anywhere. So we 
go all round about, and find new walks, — sometimes 
in streets that we have never been before, and to old 
churches or ruins; or we visit some studio, and see 
the beautiful works of marble, or the paintings, of 
which there are so many in Rome. 

14 



210 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

One of our favorite walks is out of the Porta Pia 
(gate). There is a fine sidewalk a long distance outside 
the walls of the city, which is clean and nice ; and we 
very often fall in with a great flock of sheep, or beauti- 
ful little lambs or goats, driven along, which are always 
pleasant sights to see; and we stop and look at them 
as they pass by. Sometimes there is a great drove of 
beautiful ponies or horses ; and then we feel a little 
startled to be so near, and go out of their reach as far 
as we can. Frequently we walk as far as two miles, or 
a mile and three-quarters, and back again ; for Nannine 
and Gianina are fine walkers now, and scarcely think 
of being fatigued. They frequently take their hoops 
with them ; for they enjoy very much driving them 
during the walk. 

This was the usual walk too, for a long time, of a 
French lady, with her nurse and young baby, a beauti- 
ful little thing. The lady was a pretty creature, a 
countess, the wife of the French ambassador. Meet- 
ing her so often, we had quite a little acquaintance ; 
so far at least as to bow, and wish her good-morning, 
and make inquiries about the baby : all which she re- 
turned by shaking hands with the children, and say- 
ing to them very sweetly, with her French accent, 
"How do you do?" in English. The nurse was a 
peasant woman from the country, very fine-looking 
and handsome, with her Italian costume of a red bod- 



REVIEW OF THE WINTER. 211 

ice, and embroidered lace kerchief over it, and spark- 
ling gold ear-rings and necklace. 

The little baby throve finely : it was about the age 
of our Memie. We could almost see it growing every 
day, although it was never bathed, as that is contrary 
to the practice of the French doctors here ; that is, I 
presume, not put into the water. Our baby, however, 
throve just as splendidly, we thought, and was bathed 
every day, according to the English and American 
custom. 

The French lady has another little infant now, and 
both are taken to walk together, with two nurses ; but 
we do not meet them so often as we used to, our hours 
being a little different, although we often see them 
another part of the day in some other street. . . • 

Little Memie, who began to speak English this 
winter, makes very funny work of it sometimes. She 
tries so hard to talk it as her sisters do ! Every day 
she comes in to the dessert after dinner ; and, when 
she gets to the door of the dining-room, she calls out, 
" Papa, posso entrare ? " So one evening, after she 
had come in, her mamma sent her back to say it in 
English, "Can I come in?" She went back to the 
door very patiently and willingly ; and then, in her 
hurry to speak it out, she hesitated and stammered, 
and at last she exclaimed, "Papa, posso come in?" 
thinking she had done it very nicely! It sounded very 



212 CHILD-LIFE W ITALY. 

funny, and made us all laugh. She goes all round the 
table, and kisses every one with such a sweet kiss, 
before she is put up in her high chair. Plow she likes 
cakes and bon-bons! but she is not allowed to eat 
many of them. 

The little girls' pet, Frisky, was obliged, at last, to 
be sent away. He was so mischievous, that it was 
impossible to get along with him, — tearing clothes and 
gnawing slippers to pieces in a most destructive man- 
ner. I suppose, if we had lived on the lower floor, 
where he could have run out into the garden at any 
time, working off his spirits in that way, he would 
have done better when he was in the house. But 
being up so many stairs, so that he could only go out 
once or twice a day when any one would take him, he 
had to find all his amusement in the house ; and was 
as full of life and mischief as he could be, no matter 
what he did or what he spoiled. 

A good man, whom Josef knew, took him into 
the country, where we hope he will be very kindly 
treated. Poor Gianina was greatly distressed at first 
in parting with him, and cried as if her heart would 
break ; but at length she became reconciled, and bore 
it quite well. 

April 23. — The spring has been quite backward ; 
but we are now having bright April suns and showers, 
and the country will all be beautiful aft6r this. 



REVIEW OF THE WINTER. 213 

May 22. — It is now quite warm. We have had 
strawberries and green pease in abundance since the 
first of the month. Cherries, too, are abundant. The 
garden, also, is all in bloom, with the rose-bushes liter- 
ally covered, and lilies, syringas, pinks, sweet-williams, 
&c, in profusion. The orange-trees are in blossom, 
with their strong fragrance filling the air. Every 
thing is full of life ; the birds in the trees, and the frogs 
in the fountains, singing and croaking all day long. 

And we are very busy, too, making preparations to 
go away for the summer. We are to go to the Baths 
of Lucca, and shall set out in a few days. We are 
anticipating great pleasure, as it is a beautiful country 
there. All this afternoon we have been busy packing. 
How much one has to take out as well as put in ! 
We have the same number to go that we had last 
year, — ourselves, Josef, and Lolla ; and one or two 
other servants will come afterwards. We go by post, 
and take the whole diligence, as we did last year, to 
Civita Vecchia, and then in the steamer to Leghorn. 
To-morrow I am going into the kitchen to have made 
some New-England gingerbread for lunch on the way, 
as that seems to be the fashion this spring. We have 
made it two or three times for friends who were going 
away, they liked it so much. 



214 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

JOURNEY TO LUCCA. 

Baths of Lucca, June 11. 

Deah ... You see by my date that we have 
already arrived at our summer's destination. We 
reached here Tuesday afternoon, 30th May. ... I sup- 
pose you are quite impatient to hear of our journey 
and adventures hither from Rome. 

To begin, then, in due order. We left there on 
Wednesday morning, May 24, in a spacious diligence, 
which drove up to our door, and took in all the lug- 
gage. We ourselves went down in a private carriage 
to the Porta Cavallegeria (the city gate which leads to 
the Civita-Vecchia Road). This gate is near St. 
Peter's : so, before the diligence came up, we had time 
to go in, and walk a while about the church. It was 
the first time little Memie had been there; and she 
opened her eyes, "as big as saucers," and gazed 
around most attentively. We then went out, and 
were stowed into the stage, which had arrived in the 
mean time : Nannine and Gianina, their mamma and 



JOURNEY TO LUCCA, 215 

myself, inside; the two servants, with baby, in the 
open coupee in front. 

Here the children's papa, who had come so far with 
us, bade us all good-by, and left us (for he can only 
come to the Baths for a little visit, in the middle of 
summer, his work keeping him so busily at home) ; and 
then we wheeled out through the Porta Cavallegeria 
for a seven-hours' ride across the Campagna. 

We had a great cake of delicious molasses-ginger- 
bread to beguile us at lunch-time, as we stopped 
nowhere to dine. We saw but one field of mown 
grass, it being ten days earlier than it was last year, 
when we had haying our whole journey through. At 
six o'clock we arrived at Civita Vecchia, and had our 
old rooms that looked out upon the sea. After the 
children had retired, which was quite early after their 
long day's ride, their mamma and I walked all the 
evening upon the balcony, listening to the sea, and 
taking in the fresh air, which came to us most refresh- 
ingly. All was wonderfully quiet about the house: 
there seemed to be only ourselves there. Bat the next 
morning, some American friends, Mrs. D** and her 
family, left Rome in the five-o'clock diligence, and 
arrived in the afternoon just in time to take the 
steamer with us. They also were going to the Baths 
of Lucca for the summer. 
Thus we were all in readiness : but hour after hour 



216 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

passed ; still no boat came ; and all had to make up 
their minds to spend another night at the hotel. The 
next morning came, clear and beautiful, and with it 
the French steamer from Naples for which we had 
been waiting ; but it was so crowded, that it was with 
difficulty that some of the party were allowed to go on 
board. Nevertheless, all were admitted finally ; but as 
to berths, they were not to be thought of. We were for- 
tunate enough, however, to have procured two for our 
party. The sea was very smooth ; but, notwithstand- 
ing, Gianina and Meniie and some others were seasick 
for a few hours. Gianina popped into one of the berths ; 
and poor baby would only sit with the nurse, who was 
as ill as she. But, before night, all were nicely over it 
(we had sailed at four o'clock) ; and when it came bed- 
time, such a searching as there was for places to sleep in ! 
The saloon had been given up to the gentlemen, and 
many of the ladies had to sleep on mattresses laid on 
the floor of the passage-way below. You must picture 
to yourself the various half-toilets making in the morn- 
ing, with the mattresses being bundled up from the 
floor ! 

In due time, every one was ready ; and we had 
arrived at Leghorn, and by eight o'clock were put on 
shore. We had to be rowed a long distance up to the 
quay, and it was another long time before the luggage 
could be got through the custom-house. But at 



JOURNEY TO LUCCA. 217 

length we were quietly established for the rest of the 
day and night at the St. Mark Hotel, where we were 
very promptly and delightfully served. The landlord is 
an Englishman, who has kept the house many years : 
it is an excellent hotel. A little shopping whiled 
away the afternoon ; Gianina and Nannine getting, 
among other things, some pretty colored beads to 
amuse themselves with, making rings, &c. 

The next morning, it rained a little ; but, neverthe- 
less, at eleven we started by the railway for Pisa, in- 
tending to spend two days there, having expected to 
find a friend who had long desired a visit from the 
children's mamma, but who, however, did not prove to 
be there. The country was luxuriant, and cultivated 
like a garden all the way. There were innumerable 
pond-lilies in the creeks by the roadside; and the banks 
were gayly sprinkled with bright-yellow buttercups 
and scarlet poppies. 

Pisa is a charming little city. We staid there two 
days. The rain, which continued all the first day, 
caused the Arno River, which ran past our hotel, to rise 
several feet ; and it rushed along like a mountain-tor- 
rent. The noise became almost deafening. It is a 
peculiarity of the rivers of the north of Italy, that 
they rise very rapidly. 

The next day was fine ; and Nannine, Gianina, and 
myself strolled out in pursuit of the Leaning Tower; 



218 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

for as yet we had had no glimpse of it. After a few 
inquiries, and walking about a quarter of a mile 
through the streets, we came upon it, and the whole 
group besides, — the cathedral, the baptistery, and the 
Campo Santo. They are all very imposing and grand 
edifices. After viewing them all on the outside, we 
found a guide, who took us into the Campo Santo. 
This is the old cemetery, and is quite curious, contain- 
ing many ancient monuments, which have been 
taken from various places. Within is a small space 
filled with earth brought from Jerusalem in the time 
of the crusades, I think, and is smooth, covered with 
grass. A tall rose-bush was growing in the centre, 
full of roses, of which the guide gave us each one. 

The baptistery is dome-shaped, with a quite beauti- 
ful exterior. The interior was filled up with staging, 
for making repairs ; and we could not well see it. It 
was the custom in old times to make the baptistery, 
where the christening-font is placed, separate from the 
church. 

The campanile, or tower for the bell, was also 
separate ; and in this place — Pisa — it is the famous 
Leaning Tower. This is very tall ; but there is a very 
easy stairway of two hundred and ninety-five steps 
within it, leading up to the top. We went up; and it 
was scarcely at all fatiguing, as there is a gallery run- 
ning all round every little way, where you can stop to 



JOURNEY TO LUCCA. 219 

rest, and look out upon the beautiful views, which, 
when you reach the top, are still more delightful 
and beautiful. The city, handsomely varied with 
green foliage, is spread out before you; and a great 
plain, cultivated like a garden, extends to a great dis- 
tance in every direction. On one side is Leghorn and 
the sea; and on the other are beautiful hills, among 
which lies Lucca. How much we enjoyed going up 
into this beautiful tower ! 

In the cathedral hangs the lamp from which Galileo 
received his first idea of the motion of the earth ; at 
least, so we understood the guide. I may have been 
mistaken ; for we were in a hurry then (as it had got to 
be late), and did not pay all the attention we might 
otherwise have done. It looks much like an orrery, 
and hangs still in the same place in which Galileo 
saw it. 

In the afternoon, we all drove out to the dairy-farms 
of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and saw the camels 
which are kept there for working. There was quite a 
drove of them ; and they were returning from the fields 
with their loads. They are great sturdy-looking crea- 
tures, holding up their heads in the most dignified 
manner, and looking contented enough. Probably 
they are very contented and happy, " feeding on 
clover? as it is to be supposed they do, instead of the 
scanty fare of a sandy desert. 



220 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

A great many cows were just turning into the stalls 
to be milked ; and we waited, and saw a part of the 
process. A droll thing about it was, that the men who 
milked them had the little three-legged stool tied to 
them ; so that they had nothing to do with it, as they 
went from cow to cow, but to sit down upon it. 

We had a charming afternoon, roaming about, and 
seeing all these animals, — cows, and young calves, and 
camels, — with most pleasant green fields and trees all 
about. From Pisa, we came the next day, by railway, 
to the city of Lucca ; and taking a carriage there, and 
riding without stopping, two or three hours more 
brought us to the Baths, or Bagni Caldi, as they are 
called, we having been one week on the journey after 
leaving Rome. 



THE BATHS OF LUCCA. 



221 



CHAPTER V. 



THE BATHS OF LTJCCA. 

Bagni Caldi. 

About what shall I tell you first? There are so 
many things to write of, that I know not where to 
begin ; but of course I must say that we are estab- 
lished in a very nice house, a " villa " as it is called, in 
the village of Bagni Caldi (warm baths). We keep 
house ourselves, having taken a whole house, and en- 
gaged a cook. The dining-room, Nannine's and Giani- 
na's, and my room, are all on the first or lower floor. 
Mamma's room and the parlor are up stairs, or on the 
second floor, as is also the room of a dear friend of their 
mamma's, whom the children call " Aunt Katy," and 
who is to spend the summer with us. She is a charm- 
ing lady, and her visit is very pleasant and delightful 
for us all. Her husband, who is in the navy, is on a 
cruise in the Mediterranean Sea : so that she has come 
abroad to be able to meet him when he comes into 
port ; and in the autumn she will go where he expects 
to arrive. 



222 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

The Baths (mineral baths) are on the side of a hill 
which is directly behind or close by our house, and 
which is beautifully laid out in terraces. Delightful 
winding, shady walks lead up to the Baths. But we are 
not invalids, and therefore do not take a bath, except by 
way of experiment, or for pleasure now and then. The 
whole family are perfectly well, which we attribute to 
our simple, regular way of living, — regular meals, and 
regular exercise, and regular lessons, and so on. This 
summer, for instance, we live so simply ! For break- 
fast we have stale bread ; that is, not hot, but dry 
toasted, if we like. There is sometimes pollenta, 
which is Indian-meal cooked in a kind of porridge ; or 
we have boiled rice, &c. The children and myself 
drink cold water ; their mamma, sometimes cold water, 
and sometimes tea. At dinner we have meat simply 
cooked, and vegetables; seldom any pudding, but 
some kind of fruit. While the cherries lasted, we had 
them every day; and there are plums and delicious 
apricots. At night we have strawberries, with bread 
and butter, and some simple cake for whoever likes; 
and all drink cold water. We all have our cold sponge 
bathing every morning : thus we keep very comfortable, 
even in these hot days. 

We find the air delightful ; and the scenery is really 
almost Swiss-like, being composed mostly of hills, with 
a wild, rocky -bedded river, that winds through the 



THE BATHS OF LUCCA. 223 

valley. This passes our house with a constant noise 
like a waterfall. The hills are very green, and richly 
wooded to their tops ; and occasionally one is capped 
by a village or town, which makes one think of similar 
ones in the middle ages, when they were built for 
protection in the frequent wars. We have charming 
little donkeys here too, which carry us about fre- 
quently, when we wish to vary our excursions ; and 
the roads are all so shaded by trees, we enjoy much 
either riding or walking. We all of us go out as soon 
as the heat of the afternoon is over ; usually mamma and 
Aunt Katy for a carriage drive, often taking, for com- 
pany, Mrs. D**, who is close by us at the hotel (whose 
family came in the boat with us) ; and sometimes the 
children and myself go with their mamma. But al- 
most always Gianina and baby go on donkeys, with 
the maid ; and tannine and I walk, having often for 
companions Miss Lizzy and Kitty D** : and frequently 
we get up a donkey excursion. 

The D**s are a delightful family, and as yet they 
are the only Americans here besides ourselves whom we 
know. Miss Lizzy makes herself very agreeable to every 
one, large and small; and Kitty is an excellent compan- 
ion for Nannine : they enjoy each other's society very 
much. 

June 18. — We have had a grand excursion to Pisa 
to see a wonderful illumination there. I say wonder- 



224 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

ful; for not only every house and door and window 
was illuminated, but in many streets the different 
panes of glass, and the whole fronts of the houses, 
were perfectly covered with the glittering lamps. It 
was a complete scene of enchantment. There could be 
scarcely any thing more beautiful in or out of Fairyland : 
it was all brilliant and magical. 

The streets were as crowded as they could possibly 
be, with a dense mass of human beings, — for people 
came from far and near, — so that the carriages could 
only go on a slow walk as we passed in them through 
the streets to view the illumination. It took us about 
an hour and a half to go along the Lung' Arno, — the 
street on each side of the River Arno, which runs 
through the city, — gazing all the time at the variety 
of beautiful forms in which the lights were arranged, 
and seeing the pretty effect of their reflection in the 
water, and the boats gliding about, decorated with 
bright Chinese lanterns. It took us another half-hour 
or more to go and see our old friend, the Leaning 
Tower, which is a little way out of the city, and which 
was standing quite alone in its beauty ; but it also was 
decorated with the golden lamps like so many pretty 
jewels. 

Such a scene of general illumination all over a city 
we had never seen before : every by-street and nar- 
row lane, even, was illuminated with the sparkling 



THE BATHS OF LUCCA. 225 

lights. And what would you think all this was for? 
Not for a Fourth-of-July festival, or king's birthday, or 
great victory, or any such thing, but in honor of the 
patron saint of the city ; for all Roman-Catholic cities 
have their patron saints. This celebration takes place 
every three years ; and we were very glad to have had 
the opportunity of seeing so splendid a show. 

We had gone down in two carriages to Pisa, — 
Mrs, D** and her family in one ; Aunt Katy, ^Tannine, 
Kitty D**, and myself, in the other. But, returning the 
next morning, — for we found it so hot, we were glad 
to come away early, — we took Miss Lizzy with us ; 
and Kitty staid, to come with her mother when it 
should be cooler. 

How much more cool and refreshing we found the 
air at the Baths than it had been in Pisa! 

15 



226 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER VI. 



FKEEKDS AT THE VILLA. 



About a mile from the Baths is another village, 
called "The Villa." There we have been expecting 
some delightful Friends, who have now arrived, arid have 
taken a house For the summer. They all make one Fam- 
ily, and we enjoy them very much. There is Mrs. e 

and her daughter, and dear Miss r, a charming lady, 

a little of an invalid, who is with them, and Mr. s 

and his Family: little May, his daughter, is a nice 
little companion For Gianina. She looks like a pretty 
picture, with her long, handsome curls. We see them 
very often, going there at any time, as it is one oF our 
principal walks ; and we oFten take tea there also : and 
they, going out usually on donkeys, often call here. 
They are all delightFul Friends, and we enjoy them 
exceedingly. 

Gianina played a very roguish trick one evening after 
coming From there. She had been spending the day 
with May, having gone over on a donkey ; and on re- 
turning, about sunset, one oF the ladies accompanied 



FRIENDS AT THE VILLA. 227 

her as far as our door, and then left her. There was a 
boy also, to attend them, on another donkey : and, in- 
stead of coming into the house, Gianina asked the don- 
key-boy if he would not go with her a little farther ; 
for she is passionately fond of riding, and never feels as 
if she had ridden enough. He, of course, readily con- 
sented; and they went on a long distance. Mamma and 
Aunt Katy were out driving; and what was their sur- 
prise to see far out on the road, about two miles from 
home, at that late hour, Gianina and the boy, having a 
grand gallop on the donkeys! They had been riding 
with all their speed. The donkeys here are a great deal 
better than any we have seen elsewhere, and can really 
go tolerably fast ; and Gianina had no idea of the dis- 
tance they were from home. She looked exceedingly 
hot and tired ; and her mamma took her into the car- 
riage with her, and brought her home. We thought she 
felt very much the next day the long, hard trot she had 
had, although she did not like to say much about it ! 

The family at the Villa and ours have made a de- 
lightful excursion, or picnic, to Lugliano, one of the 
mountain towns, and which overlooks the village. It 
is about an hour's ascent by donkey, on a very, very 
zig-zag path up the side of the hill. There were nine 
donkeys of us, besides almost each one having an at- 
tendant, a boy or man, which was not really neces- 
sary ; but they always will go. Mrs. e went too, 



228 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

carried in a chair, and, though an elderly* lady, enjoyed 
it as much as any of us. 

We started at five, after the heat was over ; and had 
a most charming time, taking a large basket containing 
our supper with us, and eating it there, sitting on the 
grass. 

The views from the top over the surrounding hills, 
w^hich were covered with rich foliage, and down into 
the valley below, where the river winds and the sepa- 
rate villages are dotted about, were very beautiful. I 
wish you had some of these delightful hills to roam 

over! They are quite enchanting. Mr. s thinks 

they would correspond with the Green Mountains of 
Vermont in size and verdure. 

In setting out on our return home, with our long 
procession of donkeys, men, and boys, one after an- 
other, through the narrow, steep, rocky pavements of 
the town, what should happen but that the donkey 
of Miss B. (one of the ladies of Mr. 's family) 

— or the mule rather, for it was a mule that she had 

— should take an obstinate fit, and throw his rider 
right over his head ! As he had done the same thing 
once before, she resolved that she would not mount 
him again, but would go down the mountain on foot. 
I also was walking, having left my donkey for the boy 
to lead ; for I always prefer walking down the very 
steep hills : so she joined me, and we had a very merry 



FRIENDS AT THE VILLA. 229 

time descending. We could not help laughing at the 
scrambling steps we had to take over the many rough 
and craggy places ; and could scarcely keep from run- 
ning a great part of the way, the paths were so steep. 
We went so quickly down the zig-zag ways, sometimes 
making a short cut through the bushes, and often catch- 
ing hold of a branch of a tree, and springing forwards 
to another, that we should have got down long before 
the deliberate and careful little donkeys, had we not 
lingered now and then to enjoy the sight of the great 
trees, and the pretty picture of the rest of the party, 
the whole caravan, winding slowly among them, round 
the paths above us ; JsTannine and Gianina looking de- 
mure enough, to be sure, so quiet there, mounted on the 
backs of their little animals, but sitting very securely 
in their box-saddles ; for the common donkey-saddle is 
almost a regular little box, having three sides to it at 
least. 

Thus, before we got to the foot, they had overtaken 
us ; and Miss B. and I mounted our little beasts again 
— le bestie, as the Italians call them — as soon as we 
reached the level ground, and we all trotted home very 
quickly. 

Here is a simple little dialogue, written about this 
time,* and called — 

* Written as a composition in Italian. It is here translated, as af- 
fording a slight sketch of " child-life " abroad. 



230 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

THE EXCURSION. 

Carlo (running to his papa). Will you go on a 
donkey with us ? Mamma has gone already on horse- 
back, and Francesco and I are going alone with the 
guide. 

Papa. Very well, my son : I will go willingly. But 
where is my donkey ? You have not ordered another, 
have you? 

Carlo. No, papa;- but the stable is very near, and 
they can bring one soon. 

Papa. Very well. Go quickly, and tell the guide to 
bring me a pony instead of a donkey, if there is one. 

Carlo. Yes, papa. (Goes to the stable, and re- 
turns.) Yes, there is a beautiful pony! They are 
combing him now, and then they will bring him. 

Papa. It is all right, then. Are your donkeys 
ready? 

Francesco. Yes, papa : they are in the yard. (Goes 
to look at them.) Let us see if the saddles are firm. 
Yes : they are all right. But it seems to me that this 
stirrup is not very strong : it will break soon, I think. 

Carlo. Here's the pony ! 

Papa (to the donkey-boy). Put another saddle 
on that donkey : the right stirrup is broken. 

Boy. Yes, sir. (Goes, and returns soon with a i 
die.) 



FRIENDS AT THE VILLA. 231 

Papa. Now mount, my boys, and let's away! 
What road shall we take ? 

Francesco. I like that by the mountains best. 

Carlo. But, papa, let us go to the meadow beyond 
the bridge, because it is a beautiful place to gallop : it 
is so smooth there ! I like so much to gallop on the 
donkey ! 

Papa. Well, my son, we will go first up the moun- 
tain, descend on the other side, and return by the 
meadow. 

Carlo. Thanks, papa ! That will be fine ! 

Papa. This ascent is very steep. I think we shall 
need a good half-hour for going up. Look at the 
beautiful views ! There is a town on the very top of 
that high hill. 

Francesco. Papa, I can count four towns among 
the hills ! 

Carlo. I can count five — six ! — Don't you see ? 
— there ! 

Francesco. Oh, yes ! there are two just come in sight. 

Papa. Yes : there are many beautiful places all 
around. . . . Here we are at the top ! Let us dis- 
mount for a little, and let the poor beasts rest. . . . 

Francesco. Here, donkey! now eat some grass if 
you want to. 



232 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Carlo. Papa, I should like to go down the hill on 
foot. 

Papa. The path is full of stones, my son : you 
might hurt yourself much. . . . 

Carlo. Yes, indeed ! these little stones are very 
sharp and cutting. Oh! I have hurt my foot so 
much ! 

Papa. Then get up on the donkey again. 

Carlo (speaking to the animal). Stop, donkey 
mio ! I want to get up. 

Francesco. How quickly we go down the mountain! 
We are already in the plain. Now we can gallop; 
can we not ? 

Papa. Who is that coming to meet us ? 

Carlo. It is mamma on horseback truly ! 

Papa. We are just in time, then, to return home all 
together ! 

{Exeunt horse, pony, and donkeys.) 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 233 



CHAPTER VII. 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 



The family of the Grand Duke of Tuscany spends 
the summers at the Baths of Lucca. They have a villa 
not far from ours ; and they arrived soon after we did. 
They make the streets quite lively at promenading- 
time, as their carriages are always out. There are 
three barouches, each with four horses ; but they do 
not often go all together. When the grand duchess 
herself is in the carriage, it is always preceded by an 
avant-courier, who rides on horseback a few rods in 
advance. Then the gentlemen who happen to be on 
the street all take off their hats as the carriage comes 
up, and ladies bow. 

As we were out walking to-day, Nannine, Gianina, 
and myself, we received very gracious bows from one 
of the carriages which we met, in which was the young 
duke, who has just arrived. He and all the ladies in 
the carriage bowed ; which courtesy or etiquette quite 
pleased us, inasmuch as they did so before we had at- 
tempted to. They appear very simple and affable. There 



234 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

is a little arch-duchess about twelve years of age : she 
is a chubby little thing, as round as a button. She and 
the other ladies always alight and walk after they 
have ridden a little way. There is a baby, too, as fat 
as fat can be, with his cheeks rolling over, they are 
so plump. 

One of the bands which play before the palace of 
the grand duke in Florence is also here, and plays 
very frequently on the Square. There are a great 
many instruments, and they make beautiful music : we 
often stop to hear it when we are out, and sometimes 
go out expressly for that purpose. Afterwards we go 
in often to a little saloon there is there, and take an 
ice-cream, or granita as they call it in Italy. 

Almost everybody collects on the Square to listen 
to the music. . . . 

After having written thus far, my letter was left, as 
we were going on a donkey-ride. Nannine and my- 
self went with Mrs. D**'s family, and Lieut. C. and 
his young wife, who are here for a little while on a 
wedding-tour. She is a pretty little bride, daughter 

of Commodore . They were married at Spezia, 

the place where American vessels of the navy rendez- 
vous. 

The air was perfectly clear and delightful ; the wea- 
ther being neither too warm nor too cold. We as- 
cended a height which rises directly behind our house, 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 235 

— Croce di Ferro it is called, from an iron cross on 
the top of it. There is also on the summit a pretty 
little pavilion, where one can have some refreshment 
if one chooses. We wished for none, however ; and, 
after stopping a while, we came home by a beautiful 

winding road, and met Mrs. e (the elderly lady 

who was carried in a chair on the occasion of the pic- 
nic at Lugliano) on a donkey ! — quite to our surprise, 
since she has not taken to the donkeys before ; though 
all have thought that the riding would benefit her, as 
she is quite delicate. *. 

After a pleasant two-hours' ramble, we were back in 
season to hear the music on the Square ; but there was 
so much talking all around, there was but little enjoy- 
ment from it. 

July 23. — I wonder if the weather is as warm with 
you in New England as it is here. The summer is 
extremely warm; but we manage, by shutting out the 
outer air during the heat of the day, to keep very com- 
fortable ; and the nights are made quite cool by keep- 
ing windows and doors open. 

Aunt Katy, who rooms at present with me, has just 
brought Memie down to our room from the parlor. 
She runs about with her petticoat and little white 
apron only, looking generally as " cool and fresh as a 
cucumber," as they say; although even she shows at 
times some heat. 



236 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

30th. — I just heard an outcry from Memie up stairs : 
she was stung on her finger by a wasp ! I went up to 
see, and she was sitting in her papa's lap, — who has 
now come for a month's visit, — with her finger bound 
up in oil, and very quiet. She is a dear little thing ; 
and now often at meals, if her mother is not present, 
sits by me, and is so sweet ! — molto carina^ as the 
Italians say. 

August. — A great event has taken place, — a baby 
brother born ! aud papa and mamma, and all the chil- 
dren, as you may believe, are extremely pleased with 
the little masculine individual. He is a fine-looking 
boy, a noble, healthy little fellow, and, of course, will 
be the pet of the household. So Baby Memie has her 
nose broken! but she does not seem to mind it 
at all: on the contrary, she is very much pleased. 
(The writer would be glad here to say what a 
faithful little sister she proved through all his baby 
years.) 

Nannine and Gianina happened to be spending the 
day with me at our friends' at the Villa, when the 
baby was born ; and, when we came home, Nannine 
was delighted to find her wish fulfilled, — that she had 
such a little brother as Anna had in the picture which 
was sent from America. 

During the month that their papa was at the Baths, 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 237 

— whose visit made us all very happy, — he took a trip 
to Florence of two or three days ; and, when he was ready 
to return, Nannine and myself went in the carriage to 
Lucca to meet him at the cars, and bring him home. 
It was a ride of two or three hours : so we went early 

in the morning, taking our friend Miss e with 

us, who was glad of the opportunity to have a good 
long day to see the fine pictures in the churches, &c. 
We had a very pleasant time, enjoying them very 
much ; and then we shopped a little, and had a cosey 
dinner in a cosey little room, and afterwards a nap to 
recover a little from our fatigue. We then drove in 
the carriage to the Ramparts, a beautiful promenade all 
round the city, bordered with elegant trees. 

The rest of the city of Lucca looks very old and 
dingy. This is not a handsome city, excepting that 
the situation is fine ; but it was famous as one of the 
Italian republics in former times. 

At six o'clock, we drove to the railroad and took in 
papa, and reached home about nine o'clock, having 
had a very agreeable day. 

September. — Our dear mamma and baby are doing 
nicely. He is a pretty little fellow, and grows large 
and bright every day. He brought to each of the family 
(or his mamma made believe for him) an elegant pres- 
ent on his birthday, — a handsome brooch or some 
such article. A princely little fellow! is he not? But 



238 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

his mother says she shall teach him hereafter the 
strictest economy ! 

Since baby was born, we have had no lessons ; but 
the three girls have been out with me every morn- 
ing in the carriage to spend some hours, getting out 
and walking a while in the woods or wherever we 
fancied. This morning we drove out, and ac- 
complished a few errands : then we picked up a little 
girl, daughter of a German lady in whom Aunt Katy 
was interested ; and, after walking a while in a pretty 
wood, we brought her home to spend the day with the 
children. Last Sunday, only Gianina went with me 
to church; poor Nannine being laid up with a sore 
foot, which is quite painful. Baby and his nurse rode 
with us in the carriage as far as the Villa, that being 
the home of the new nurse, who is an English wo- 
man by birth. The church is also at the Villa, and 
we go there regularly every Sunday; often walking, 
as it is a pleasant walk of only a mile. 

Memie has just come along, saying something in the 
slow, deliberate way which she has when she speaks 
English, which sounds very cunning. 

Sept. 17. — Little Memie is on the floor by my side, 
making a house with books. She came in just now, leav- 
ing the door open. I said, " Shut the door, Memie." — 
"No," said she: "you shut her." — "Oh, no!" I replied. 
"Memie go and shut the door." In the mean time, 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 239 

the door closed of itself: so she said, " She shut herself 

— did." I give you this as a specimen of her English. 
She can now, however, express in very good language 
almost all that she wishes to say. But I must give 
you more specimens of the kind when she was just 
beginning. Her mamma was saying to her one night 
playfully, "Now you can't go to bed, what will 
you do ? " She answered hesitatingly, " I come — 
Maria " (one of the servants who came after us from 
Rome, and who now takes care of Memie) — "I come 

— Maria — for — make — sleep ; " meaning she would 
call Maria to come and put her to bed, as was her 
custom. 

Once she had been talking a little English, and her 
mother wished her to say something else, which she 
repeated for her ; but Memie replied, " Dat's all I can 
di-re " ("say"). For a long time, she supplied the verbs 
in Italian ; as, " Will you tagliare * this ? " "I want to 
dormire.X " " Let me bevere. X " It was quite touching 
to see how conscious she was at first of her inability to 
express herself in English. Her mother was once try- 
ing to make her repeat some English words. She an- 
swered, all in Italian, that she couldn't " say such big 
words." 

Nannine had a habit of letting the door fly to after 
her, which she was often reminded of : "Do not slam 

* "Cut." f "Sleep." t "Drink." 



240 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the door!" One day, on going out, she did the 
same, when Memie spoke up, " Mamma, Nina smelted 
the door — did ! " She used to say, " I am very drink ! " 
meaning " thirsty ; " and, in playing with some one once, 
she lifted up their chin, saying, " Let me kiss you un- 
der your knee ! " But in general, now, she makes use 
of very correct expressions, and has learned quite 
rapidly this summer. She always had the habit of 
repeating every thing she heard, whether she under- 
stood it or not. Even when she was a little thing, 
just beginning to talk, when she saw her sisters kneel- 
ing down and saying their prayers before going to 
bed, she would insist immediately upon doing the 
same, murmuring some sounds, without in the least 
knowing a word they uttered. 

There was one little trick that Memie must have 
played this summer, which we did not discover until 
two years afterwards. We had brought from Rome a 
little book called " Classic Tales." It was in my room, 
but I had missed it ; and, when we came to pack up to 
go away from the Baths, we could find nothing of 
it : it was a great mystery what could have become 
of it. There was also in the room a trunk with a 
thick linen cover, which had been kept on through all 
our journeys. Two summers afterwards, when this 
trunk had travelled round a great deal, and had re- 
crossed the ocean, and gone from New York to Boston, 



SUMMER AT THE BATHS. 241 

and from Boston to Newport, the cover began to 
look rather shabby, though still quite strong, and we 
thought we would have it taken off; when, lo and 
behold ! there appeared in the front side, between it 
and the trunk, the little book of " Classic Tales " we 
had searched for at the Baths so long in vain. It was 
looking a little the worse for its travels, but was not 
much injured. We concluded that Memie, in playing 
round the room that summer at Lucca, must have put 
it there ; for we did not see how it could have slipped 
down of itself, the cover was so tight. It may have 
done so, however, and little Memie may have been 
quite innocent of the roguishness ; we do not know : 
though perhaps, when she comes to read these lines, 
some dim, far-off recollection may inform her that she 
was truly the little culprit. Not a very guilty one, 
however, it is readily confessed! 

16 



242 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LAST MONTH AT THE BATHS. 

This month of September we are here almost all 
by ourselves. Aunt Katy has gone to Spezia to meet 
her husband, who arrived there the day after she did ; 
and, of course, they are very happy. She was with us 
two months and a half, and we* shall miss her very 
much : and Mrs. D**'s family are gone ; but we shall 
meet them again in Florence. The friends at the 
Villa will remain, perhaps, as long as we do. During 
the splendid mornings of this month, we have — Nan- 
nine, Gianina, and myself — each of us a donkey 
brought to the door ; and we go off on a good ride. 
Josef goes with us, and is as full of fun and frolic as 
he can be ; in all kinds of antic ways, making the don- 
keys trot and gallop. They are fine little fellows, or 
rather large ones, — the largest and best we have met 
anywhere, — and really quite orderly and manageable, 
like their superior, the horse. We often go to the 
Maddelena Bridge, which is two miles from the house ; 
and, the road being smooth, we can have a fine trot 



AN EXCURSION TO PONTE NERO. 243 

most of the way. We often dismount, and loiter for a 
while, enjoying the delightful air, and the shade of the 
trees or groves along the roadside. Once we spent a 
whole long day on a pleasant picnic excursion, of 
which the following is an account : * — 

AN EXCURSION TO PONTE NERO. 

How beautiful it was yesterday morning when we 
set out, Nannine, Gianina, and myself, to go to spend 
the day in the woods, under the shade of the trees! 
The sky was perfectly clear, and the air so serene, that 
it was a pleasure only to breathe. 

We mounted our donkeys, and went along the road 
where the factories f are, which leads to the Ponte 
Nero. All was so quiet, and the air was so healthful 
and pleasant, that, after the first mile, we dismounted 
to go on foot slowly, at our pleasure, almost all the 
remainder of the way, until we reached the factories. 
We stopped for some minutes at the small and pretty 
cascade on the right of the road, from which the fall- 
ing water forms, at the foot, a little lake. 

Arrived at the factories, it was necessary to mount 
again our little animals ; and we proceeded thus until 

* Written originally in Italian. The writer has preferred to trans- 
late it literally, although it sounds a little quaint, as giving more the 
"atmosphere" of the place. 

t " Le Fabbriche." These were nail-factories. 



244 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

we reached the Ponte Nero. This is a very singular 
place, where the small River Lima has made a passage 
for itself through the rocks. The fissure is quite wide, 
and very long, considering the immense depth ; and 
there, far down at the bottom, the water flows in quiet 
stillness, but looking so dark, or black, that it has 
given the name to the little bridge which is built 
over it.* 

Crossing the bridge (Ponte), we came to a little 
grove, which gave us shade enough to take a luncheon 
there ; for it was then almost noon, and Nannine and 
Gianina were already quite hungry. Josef, our good 
servant, who did not, however, come with us, had put 
up for us in a basket a great provision of bread and 
butter, cold chicken, &c, beside what was intended for 
our dinner. 

With this we satisfied our appetites ; and there was 
enough left for the two guides, to whom we gave also 
a bottle of beer which Josef had put up : for we took 
none of it ourselves, and knew that the men would 
enjoy it highly. 

After this little delay and rest, we continued our 
way for a mile or more across a chestnut wood, and 
finally came to a beautiful place on the side of a hill, 
with shady trees, good fresh air, and a beautiful view 
in front of us of the mountains, and of the towns Pal- 

* " Ponte Nero," — Black Bridge. 



AN EXCURSION TO PONTE NERO. 245 

leggio, Casoli, and Crossiana. Palleggio was situated 
directly opposite us; and the river was meandering 
gracefully between us and that village. 

After an hour or two, in which we busied ourselves 
with our books and work, which we had brought with 
us, we prepared for dinner. The grass, the stones, and 
our shawls laid down, made seats for us ; and napkins 
spread over our laps and on the stones formed the 
table. We ate with great relish of the cold pigeons 
and fruit and biscuits, not forgetting our poor little 
animals, which had been turned out to graze. We 
called them up, and fed them with bits of peach and 
sweet biscuits. How they showed their great big teeth 
as they took them eagerly from our fingers ! 

We had time enough after dinner to amuse our- 
selves with a good game of "hide-and-seek" among 
the large trunks of the trees, to Nannine's and Gia- 
nina's greatest delight. But, when the ominous clock 
— which we heard from the near village — struck four, 
we were obliged to pack up all our things, and leave 
behind every pleasure which the rocks and the trees 
could afford, and take our way towards home. There, 
before dark, we happily arrived, with no adventure 
befalling us : not a limb was broken ; no one received 
any harm whatever, but all returned safe and sound, 
after a most pleasant day ! . . . 

On one of the days of this pleasant September, Nan- 



246 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

nine took some small sheets of paper, and made them 
into a little blank book. Then, with a pencil, she 
put a pretty edge all round the cover, and wrote on 
it, "The Fairy-book." As she was going out, she 
handed it to me to have a story put into it. "Oh, what 
a task!" I thought to myself: "how can I do it?" But 
she went away, apparently with all confidence that the 
story would be there when she came back. Not so 
with me, however ; for, to tell the truth (sub rosa), I 
had never written a fairy-story in my life. However, 
as poor Gianina happened to have a bad headache, and 
could not go out that afternoon, but was lying on the 
bed, and I also was remaining at home to sit by her, I 
thought I would try and see if I could gratify Nan- 
nine. So, while she was gone, some invisible fingers — 
invisible to her — filled out all the pages of the little 
book ; and this was the story : — 

THE FAIRIES' DANCE. 

It was the bright time between the summer and 
autumn ; and the fairy queen thought she must have a 
merry-making in her bower of sweet ivy and gold and 
scarlet woodbine. So she spoke to her trumpeter, 
and told him to blow a blast, long and loud, upon his 
honeysuckle trumpet, to call all her people together. 

Now, the trumpeter — and he was a cunning little 
fairy-trumpeter, I assure you — was staying in the 



THE FAIRIES' DANCE. 217 

queen's bower, because she always wanted him bv her 
side to summon her people when they were away; 
and he used to hang up his horn on the wall of the 
bower. He was short, and the horn hung pretty high : 
so he jumped upon a toad-stool which was underneath, 
and reached it with his tiny hands. Then he placed 
it to his mouth, and took a long breath, puffing out his 
cheeks, and blew such a blast, that it almost shivered 
such a little trumpet all to pieces ; for it was nothing 
but the nectary of a honeysuckle. 

However, the sound resounded in the dales and 
among the hills, until every fairy heard it ; and they 
came from bush and from brake, from their naps or 
their work, to the bower of the fairy queen. 

" Now," said she, " we must have a great feast. I 
wish you all to go and invite our friends. Some of you 
go to the fireflies, and tell them they must come with 
their best lights trimmed ; for I want my green ivy and 
scarlet woodbine to sparkle as with stars. And be 
sure and fetch some glow-worms; for I must have one 
for my jewelled crown. And tell the crickets and the 
grasshoppers not to fail with their clearest notes, for 
I desire a fine concert ; and the frogs must not neglect 
to bring their bass. You must gather some juice from 
the honeysuckles, some pollen from the roses and the 
lilies, and some sap from the maple ; for all shall be 
feasted. And some of you go and beseech the rnQQU 



248 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

to send down her most silvery rays, shining in upon 
my parlor-floor to polish it for our dancing." 

So they all went in their various directions. Those 
who were the nimblest went after the fireflies; those 
who could swim best went to summon the frogs ; and 
those who had the most airy wings went upwards to 
seek the rays of the moon. 

In good time, they all came back. Whole leaves full 
of pollen were brought to spread- the table ; and cups 
of maple-juice and honey-dew were gathered bounti- 
fully. 

Then began to arrive the guests. The fireflies 
streamed along one by one, and took their places 
among the green and gold and scarlet leaves of the 
bower, dotting it all over like so many sparkling 
gems. The glow-worms meekly took their places 
lower down, and looked like as many pretty soft lamps 
arranged around the room. One alone, a beauty, was 
reserved for the queen's crown. Then came the crickets 
and their grasshopper neighbors ; and they were so ex- 
cited, that they immediately began to twitter and chirp 
as they crept in among the leaves in the queen's fine 
drawing-room. 

The big frogs — how they came laboring up with 
their stout bass-drums ! The queen said they must stay 
outside. They should fare as well as any of them ; but 
she could not have their loud music, indispensable as 



THE FAIRIES' DANCE. 249 

it was, too near her delicate nerves. It was all the 
same : if they could beat upon their drums, and have 
some of the good cheer, it was all they cared for; and 
so they placed themselves near the hall outside. 

Then, last of all, as the moon rose above the 
mountains, you could see her soft rays coming down 
straight to the bower; and, entering the door, they 
stretched across the floor, making it silvery bright ! 

Then said the queen, " Let the music wake up ! " 
At this hint, the musicians tuned up their throats and 
their drums ; and such a twittering and chirping and 
croaking began as almost made the bower to tremble 
to its foundations. 

But do nc5t think that the invited friends had noth- 
ing to do but to make music for the rest. Certainly 
they each had their turn in a waltz or a hop, or a jump 
or a galop. It was funny enough to see the long slen- 
der grasshopper performing a gallopade with some 
fairy nymph ! The crickets were employed in the 
jump, for they did the jumping-dance to perfection ; 
and, when a partner for the hop was wanted, one was 
always sought among the frogs ! 

In the waltz, the fireflies shone most : they could 
whirl round so rapidly, you would scarcely know if 
you were on your head or your feet. The queen hon- 
ored them all in the waltz, the jump, the hop, and the 
galop. When they had all danced to their hearts' 



250 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

content, with many an up and down, a slip and fall, 
upon the silvery bright moonlit floor, and which they 
all took in good part, the queen gave orders that 
the refreshments should be served. Then they all sat 
up stately and erect, some of them tearing off bits of 
green leaves for napkins to spread upon their laps ; 
and tiny cups, with all that was nice, were sent round. 
When it came to the frogs, you would have laughed to 
see how elegantly they sipped the sugary maple-juice 
from the pretty little bluebell cups. 

After a time, midnight came ; which was the hour 
for all respectable people to be going home. So, very 
gracefully, one troop after another took leave, with 
occasionally a trip-up on the polished floor when a 
very low bow was attempted, especially among the 
crickets. The grasshoppers were more limber, and 
could do it better. As to the frogs, their necks were, 
so short, they did not attempt to do much. Thus, with 
a kind adieu, and thanks to all, the queen dismissed 
them, each one hoping there might be some time an- 
other merry-making. 



DEPARTURE FOR FLORENCE. 251 



CHAPTER IX. 

DEPARTURE FOR FLORENCE. 

On the road to The Villa, the large leaves of the 
catalpas, which border the way, are turned as yellow 
as gold by the September air, and cover the ground 
almost as thickly as a carpet. They are so handsome, 
so large and golden, that we can hardly resist stopping 
to gather heaps of them whenever we pass. Some 
other leaves also have changed ; and although it is 
still pleasant and bright out of doors, in the house, 
where the sun does not come, it has got to be cool a 
good part of the day, and every one seems quite liable 
to take cold : so we think it is time to be removing. It 
is the last day but one of September. A portion of 
our friends at The Villa went to-day, — namely, little 
May and her papa ; and the rest of their family will 
go on Monday. We are to go to-morrow (Satur- 
day). 

Our packing was all finished this morning ; and there 
is nothing more to be done this afternoon, unless it is 
to get a little walk by and by with the children, and 



252 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

to make an Indian-cake to be cooked hot for supper ; 
for Nannine has been begging for one all summer, and 
has been promised one for to-day. It being a New- 
England Johnny-cake, the cook, of course, knows 
nothing about it : therefore, when we have one, I go 
into the kitchen and make it. It has been too warm, 
untii now, to have so hearty a supper ; and so we have 
put it off. 

The walk was taken. We fell in with a little Vene- 
tian boy whom we have often met. He and Nannine 
had become great friends, having taken two or three 
rides together on donkey-back. He was as lively as 
he could be, and cut the funniest capers with his don- 
key, as he walked along by the side of him, for a time. 
The boy, who is here from Venice with his father and 
mother, is the prettiest little fellow ! — seven or eight 
years of age. He is slight and graceful, with dark 
hair and soft eyes, and wears a little velvet suit, with 
a ruffled collar, and ruffles around the wrists, which 
makes him look like a beautiful little figure of some 
of the old Venetian pictures. He also, with his family, 
is going to Florence in a day or two, where we shall 
very probably meet him again. 

The Johnny-cake was baked, and an excellent supper 
made of it. We retired early, and the next morning, 
at half-past seven, we were packed into two carriages ; 



DEPARTURE FOR FLORENCE. 253 

the baby's good English nurse, Mrs. B., going with us 
to take care of him during the month that we shall 
remain in Florence : and thus we rode until towards two 
o'clock, when we reached Pistoia. 

The ride was all the way through cornfields and 
vineyards ; the grape-vines being trained and festooned 
from tree to tree, which has a very pleasant and beauti- 
ful appearance. At Pistoia we took the cars, and 
were surprised at the beauty of the scenery all the 
rest of the way. The hillsides were covered with 
towns and villas, becoming more and more numerous 
as we drew near the city ; and we did not wonder, 
with all the lovely views, that this should be called 
" Florence the Beautiful." We reached it at three, or 
half-past. A merry chime of bells was pealing out as 
we entered the city, which, altogether, looked most 
cheerful and delightful after our four months of quiet 
country life. 

We are established in a nice suite of rooms, — the 
same which we had last year at this hotel, the Isles 
Brittaniques. The hotel is on the north side of the 
Lung' Arno, and looks out upon the river and the 
bridges. When the baby was being brought up stairs, 
Madam S., the beautiful English singer, who had also 
been at the Baths of Lucca, was coming up the stairs 
too, to her rooms in the same hotel. She stopped and 
admired baby, and almost " envied " mamma, she said, 



254 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

" such a noble boy ! " She has only one child, a little 
girl, who looked very pretty and graceful, as we often 
saw her at the Baths, riding on her donkey. Their 
house was at the Villa. 

That same afternoon, after dinner, Nannine and Gia- 
nina went out with me to buy a few cakes of soap, 
&c. We went round by the Jewellers' Bridge, taking 
a peep at the beautiful things. This is actually 
a bridge of jewellers' shops, being lined with them 
on both sides nearly the whole way up and down. 
What handsome sets of garnet and of the lovely blue 
turquoise we saw ! 

One of the first things we met in our walk was the 
avant-courier, followed by carriages of the Grand 
Duke; all which seemed quite natural, as we met 
them so often at the Baths. Hearing the band play 
sounds very natural, too, and is very pleasant ; for 
they had left the Baths some time before we did, and 
we had quite missed them. 

The next afternoon we went to the Cascini, anil 
drove all around them. How beautiful these gardens, 
or grounds, are! They are very extensive, and are 
laid out in handsome walks and drives, with elegant 
shrubbery and tall trees very richly twined with ivy ; 
for ivy grows abundantly all over Italy, and every- 
where adorns the trees, climbing up into them, and 
spreading its rich foliage all about. Often a band of 



DEPARTURE FOR FLORENCE. 255 

music plays at the entrance of the gardens ; and innu- 
merable people in carriages stop, and collect there to 
hear it, filling the great space all around. Then the 
flower-girls — girls dressed in costume, with a jaunty 
little straw hat on the head — come round with quan- 
tities of beautiful flowers, and toss a bouquet into your 
carriage. They often go away without any pay for 
it; but they come afterwards to the hotel to get it: 
so they are quite sure, in that way, of disposing of 
their flowers, whether you wish to take them or not ! 

The 1st of October happened to be a grand festi- 
val day ; and, in returning from the Cascini, we met a 
long and quite splendid procession in the street. 
There was a figure of the Madonna carried in front, 
as large as life, and dressed in an elegant white silk, 
with a canopy of yellow silk and lace over her head. 
In her arms she held the child Jesus. How strange 
it would seem in our Protestant towns or cities to 
see an image of the Virgin Mary carried about in such 
a way, and treated with so much reverence and wor- 
ship ! for many went and knelt before it. But Italy 
has always had in all her cities and towns such shows 
and processions ; and we think they have been handed 
down from the earliest times, in imitation of the old 
customs of the country before Christianity was intro- 
duced. There are many festival days, and on every 
festival there is some religious procession of the kind ; 



256 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

but most frequently it is the crucifix * which is car- 
ried. This is followed by priests with their church 
vestments, and monks in their brown or white gowns, 
— as the different orders of monks have different 
dresses, — and choristers, who chant the psalms as 
they go along ; and often, even in the daytime, they 
carry lighted torches. These shows belong only to 
Roman-Catholic churches and countries. 

* A cross, with a figure of the Saviour upon it. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 257 



CHAPTER X. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 



Floeence, October. 
Florence is a place for straw-work. All kinds of 
fancy straw-plaiting are done here, besides the bonnet 
or hat manufactures. You meet women in the streets 
plaiting as they go along, just as, in Rome, they knit as 
they are walking leisurely through the streets ; for the 
peasants in all these countries seem to be very indus- 
trious, keeping always busily at work when they have 
it to do. The straw-work shops are fascinating ; and 
you can but stop and gaze in at the windows filled 
with all sorts of beautiful straw bags and slippers, and 
little babies' shoes, and baskets and vases and salvers, 
and all varieties of pretty things. We have really 
wanted to buy so many ! There is a great deal also 
of the exquisite white alabaster-work; and here we 
could not resist taking, for a souvenir, a pretty model 
of the beautiful Leaning Tower of Pisa, to send to a 
friend, but which, however, before reaching its destina- 
tion, was completely crushed, it was so delicate. • . . 
17 



258 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

The little Venetian boy has been two or three times 
to dine with Nannine and Gianina, and spend long 
afternoons with them ; but, as he does not seem to un- 
derstand so well playing in-door games as he does 
playing tricks with his donkey out of doors, they had 
at first to make quite an exertion to get up some 
entertainment for him. He enjoys almost any thing, 
however, in the way of amusement, and is soon pleased. 
The two girls w T ere invited to spend a day at his house ; 
and they had a very pleasant time. But his family are 
not to remain long in Florence: they go about the 
middle of this month back to Venice. Gianina goes 
often, too, to visit her little friend May, who is delight- 
fully situated in a pretty house with a garden around 
it, with the lady who has the charge of her ; for her 
father has gone away for some time. Nannine also has 
enjoyed meeting again her dear friend Kitty; and Miss 
Lizzy, who makes a pet of Memie, comes very often to 
get her ; and one day she brought and put upon her 
finger the cunningest little turquoise ring. Memie, too, 
is very fond of her, and runs to climb up in her lap 
whenever she comes in. Baby is taken out by his 
nurse to walk every day, grows finely, and is a darling 
little fellow. He was vaccinated, which made him 
almost ill for a week. 

Since we have been in Florence, a package has 
arrived from friends in America, containing little me- 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 259 

mentoes; and with what pleasure we unfolded them 
one by one! Among them was a lovely ringlet of little 
Anna's hair. So her locks have all been cut off! and 
what were once golden are now a beautiful auburn. 
We all admire and treasure it much. Accompanying 
it was another beautiful little daguerrotype of Anna, 
not trying to see a kitten, as before, but standing very 
proper and nice, and showing her long curls before 
they were cut off. 

Oct. 29. — Our sight-seeing for the last fortnight — 
for, of course, we have been again to the churches, 
galleries of pictures, &c, as we did when we were here 
before — has been much interrupted by all the children 
having had the most severe influenza, such as they 
had never had, with cough, and sick headache. If 
they had not had the whooping-cough (they had it 
comparatively light in Rome), we should certainly have 
thought for a time they were having it, they coughed 
so badly. Even the baby also coughed. But they are 
all recovered from it now, after having been confined 
to their rooms for several days. The weather has 
been changeable and fall-like, and quite trying a por- 
tion of the time ; which was the cause, probably, of the 
children's bad colds. They are rejoiced to be out 
again, as we all are. 

During this stay in Florence, we had a new amuse- 
ment, which really became quite exciting all round. It 



260 CBILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

was a new kind of charade, in acrostics ; and was given 
to us by an English gentleman, an old friend of the 
family, who formerly lived in Rome. 

The method is to select two words that bear some 
relation to each other, and which contain the same 
number of letters ; as air, sky; water, earth. These two 
words are written down lengthwise, and the corre- 
ponding letters of each make the beginning and end of 
some other word which you may select, in this way: — 



w 


av 


E 


A 


lm 


A 


T 


owe 


R 


E 


mme 


T 


R 


ic 


H 



Then the definitions only of these words are given, 
from which you may discover the original words, 
thus : — 

1. A watery element. * 

2. A battle in the Crimean War. 

3. Picturesque in a landscape. 

4. Something very small in our eyes. 

5. What many wish to be. 

From these definitions, you are to find out the ele- 
ments given, water and earth; or they might have 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 261 

been reversed, earth coming first, and water last ; and 
any other words made of them, like this : — 



E 


uta 


W 


A 


nn 


A 


R 


io 


T 


T 


rad 


E 


H 


ono 


R 



But the prettiest acrostic charades are made from 
proper nouns, as Homer and Ilion (another name for 
Troy), being a poet, and what he has written about; 
Odyssey and Ulysses, a poem and its hero. 

The following is an example : — 

1. Part of a tree. P it H 

2. A "goat with wreathed horns." A ntelop E 

3. A quick mode by which to travel R ai L 

4. A winter ornament of New-England houses. I cicl E 

5. Desirable when cold, unpleasant when hot. S u N 

These two acrostics are a lover and his beloved. 

We and our friends the D**s were very much inter- 
ested in these new charades ; and for some time they 
passed very briskly back and forth between the two 
families, each trying to get up new ones with which 
to puzzle the other. 

Mr. B., the English gentleman, gave us the following 
splendid one, which I believe was original with him ; 



262 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

but it required gentlemen's heads, we thought, to solve 
it. At least, it seemed to us more than enough for ours, 
— mamma's and mine, — and we sent it over to Gen. 
and Mr. D** (the father and elder brother) to unravel. 
In the course of the evening, a note was returned by 
Mr. D**, announcing that the " united genius " of his 
father and himself had "succeeded in solving" it; and 
he gave the words and answers all beautifully written 
out. Of course, it looked very easy when we saw it 
all plain before our eyes; and we thought we were very 
dull not to have discovered it before ! It is true, we 
did suspect what the answers might be; but we could 
not make out all the definitions. The "head of a rus- 
tic ghost," for instance, we puzzled ourselves over that 
for a long time. 

These were the definitions given: — 

(1.) 1. The eagle-tamer. 

2. The latest victory. 

3. The head of a rustic ghost. 

4. The Muse of love. 

5. Something known to bakers and drummers. 

6. Troublesome to fish and columns (of troops). 

7. A South- American river. 

8. " Knowledge in the making." 

The two words to be found signify 

The fall of the eagle, and the eagle. 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 263 

In case any of our very young readers should at- 
tempt to solve the above, we will tell them, that, in 
place of " the latest victory," " an eastern quarter of 
the world" will do as well, and that "the head of a 
rustic ghost "is — a turnip ! Also that " knowledge in 
the making " is opinion. 

Mr. D** sent also in return this original one, "just 
made," he said, "on the spur of the moment," — 
at a time when it was particularly rainy, cold, and 
uncomfortable ; and it will do for our friends who are 
abroad, when the weather is in the same condition : — 
(2.) 1. A confused medley. 

2. Lacking a full supply of wits. 

3. What goes up faster than a balloon ? 

4. A stop put to trade. 

5. A stuck-up Oriental. 

6. An apostolic parent. 

7. The opposite to truth. 

The two words signify 

The foreign name of a favorite city, and 
An unpleasant time of the year there. 

The following is also an original one by Gen. D. : — 
(3.) 1. The Legacy of Curius Dentatus, the Censor' 
to posterity. 

2. Of the earth. 

3. The finest ornament of the tree. 



264 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

4. A starting-point in history. 

5. John Bull's delight. 

6. A word hard to be spoken. 

7. A vain imagination. 

8. A primitive dwelling. 

9. The parent of habit. 
10. Man's last companion. 

A hero of antiquity, 
Proved a man. 

This, too, was sent to us by him :— 
(4.) 1. A diminutive fiend. 

2. A devotee of Flora who could not see. 

3. The family name of a Scotch chieftain. 

4. A part of the foot hard to fit well. 

5. More than one silly bird. 

6. The official title of a man who is getting 

thrashed. 

7. An Italian town. 

8. A general who saved ancient Rome. 

9. A perfect balance. 

A bad state for a man to be reduced to, and 
The same thing carried to an extreme. 

The two preceding will do to puzzle the boys who 
may read this book, or any girls who like hard work. 



STA Y IN FLORENCE. 2(55 

They were so hard, that neither mamma nor I found 
them out for a long time. I do not know how easy 
such might not be now, if we should try ! Of course, 
^Tannine and Gianina did not trouble themselves 
at that time about any of these, as they were quite 
beyond their efforts at their age then. 

The following will be found very easy : — 

(5.) 1. The name of a British queen. 

2. Produced in cold climates, used in hot. 

3. What time makes picturesque. 

4. Name of some of the English kings. 

5. An initial which is a word. 

6. An English title of nobility. 

A poet and his work. 

(6.) 1. The two first syllables of a word meaning 
truth. 

2. A French participle of two letters. 

3. A pleasant thing after dinner. 

4. Two letters that sound like words. 

5. Useful on the seashore and to cleanly house- 

wives. 

A mother £nd her offspring.* 
* See Appendix. 



266 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Here also are some puzzles and conundrums which 
amused us at the time : — 

You o my o but I o thee 

O o no o but o o me 

Then let my o thy o be 

And give o o for thee and for me. 

Captain BBBB 
Has sent his C C C C 
To the E A S T 

Which runs faster, heat or cold ? 

Ans. Heat ; because you can catch cold. 

Why is a hen as economical an animal as farmers 
keep? 

Ans. Because for every grain she gives a peck. 

At this time, in Florence, Nannine wrote a pretty 
little verse which came into her mind as she was lying 
awake in the night ; and in the morning she wrote it 
down. This is it : — 

A GOOD-NIGHT. 

Good-night, good-night ! 

The moon is bright ; 
The stars shine out with golden light : 

It is a very pretty sight 



STAY IN FLORENCE. 267 

To see them shining over land and sea ; 
They also light my room for me ! 

She had written her first little piece in July, while 
we were at the Baths : she had often made rhymes 
before; but this was quite real little poetry. Yet, 
although the lines rhymed nicely in repeating it, she 
wrote them all straight along as if it were prose, and 
asked me to copy them for her, and put them all right. 
The following is a copy : — 

THE FAIRY SONG. 

Come early in the morning, 
Before the dew is gone, 
Before the sun has poured 
His hot rays on the lawn, 

And you will see us all there, 
Fairies great and small : 
Our queen sits in the middle, 
And around her we sit all ; 
And to her we run so quickly 
When we hear her merry call ! 

So come early in the morning, 
Before the dew is gone, 
Before the sun has poured 
His hot rays on the lawn. 



268 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

After these beginnings, Nannine occasionally came 
out with other little pieces of poetry. She was always 
rather shy about them, however, and did not like to 
have them much talked about. 



TOUR BY PERUGIA. 269 



CHAPTER XL 



TOUR BY PERUGIA. 



During the month in Florence, the children's mamma 
was looking out for a good woman to take back with 
her to Rome for the baby's nurse; and several persons 
made application. 

Two or three times, Nannine, Gianina, and I, while 
walking in the Boboli Gardens, had noticed a nice- 
looking English maid with two pretty little English 
children dressed exactly alike, and who looked like 
little twins. One afternoon in particular, as we were 
going up and down the long, beautiful avenues, we 
saw the same cunning little creatures. They were so 
small, they looked almost fairy-like ; and we could not 
help going up and speaking to them, and asking the 
maid all about them. The maid was a fine, healthy- 
looking young woman, and appeared exceedingly well ; 
but we did not know who she was, and she knew noth- 
ing about us. But, that very evening, who should 
come to inquire about the place of nurse for the baby, 



270 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and offer her services, but this very English maid! 
We recognized her at once; and mamma liked her 
looks so well, and her recommendations, that she soon 
engaged her. Thus Mary, which was her name, was 
established as nurse to the little boy. 

In the latter part of the month, a dear aunt of the 
children's mamma arrived in Florence with her son 
and daughter, a young lady and gentleman, to go on 
with us to Rome : therefore it was necessary to have 
two large carriages to accommodate the whole party ; 
and the journey was to be by the way of Perugia, and 
would take a long week, as we should not travel on 
Sunday. 

We left Florence at eight o'clock on Wednesday 
morning, on the first day of November, snugly packed 
in our carriages, and had splendid weather all the way ; 
it raining only one afternoon. We had a most pleas- 
ant time, some of us changing frequently from one 
carriage to the other. The aunt, and Cousin Hatty, 
and Cousin M., were very lively and delightful ; and we 
had a great deal of enjoyment. We stopped the first 
night at Arezzo, the town where Petrarch, one of the 
great poets of Italy, was born ; and in the morning we 
walked out to see his house, which is still standing. 
The next night we came to Lake Thrasymene, which 
is large and beautiful; and I suppose that the very 
plain over which we passed, on the border of it, must 



TOUR BY PERUGIA. 271 

have been the battle-ground of the Romans and Car- 
thaginians two thousand years ago, when Hannibal 
conquered, and then went on to Capua. This was one 
of the few defeats, history says, that the ancient Ro- 
mans ever suffered ; and it startled them very much, — 
making them fear that that great conqueror might be 
coming on immediately to Rome. 

The next day brought us to Perugia, where we 
wished to stop some time ; for it is a fine old city, 
situated grandly on the summit of a high hill. It was 
one of the "twelve" ancient cities of Etruria. The 
ascent is so long and steep, that it was quite neces- 
sary to put oxen to the carriages to aid the horses in 
drawing them up the hill; and, on some other long 
hills of the journey, there were additional horses or 
oxen attached. 

These long, slow ascents gave us sometimes an 
opportunity to get out and walk, which we enjoyed 
very much ; the autumn sun was so golden, the air so 
fresh and invigorating, and the views so extensive and 
fine, taking in whole panoramas of rolling hills and 
vales, looking literally like " mountain-waves." 

But we must not forget Perugia. It was a fair- 
time, and the city was exceedingly crowded. There 
was such a dense throng in the streets, like our Fourth- 
of-July celebrations at home, that we could scarcely, 
for a while, get about from one place to another \ and 



272 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

at night we had to sleep upon mattresses made up for 
us upon the parlor floor of the hotel ! 

Our great object was to see some beautiful pic- 
tures of Raphael, and his master Perugino, which are 
in this city; for here Perugino lived, and Raphael, 
when a young man, studied with him, and had looked 
and gazed with delight upon those very pictures of 
his master which we now saw, and which are really 
beautiful. There is a tender grace and loveliness in 
Perugino's works, — in his Madonnas with the Child; 
for that was the great subject which occupied all 
the artists of that time : they were never weary of 
painting her and the infant Saviour in every variety 
of beautiful attitude and expression. In this city, too, 
is the earliest picture of Raphael's that is known to 
be existing. It is the loveliest little picture of the 
little John and the child Jesus embracing each other. 
They are represented as little children, two or three 
years of age, sitting together on a bench. There is 
nothing else in the picture : it is very sweet and inter- 
esting. . . . 

Here at Perugia, what splendid roasted chestnuts 
we found on the Square ! we bought many handfuls of 
them. This was nothing new in Italy ; for, in every 
town and city, there are roasted and boiled chestnuts 
at the corners of almost every street : but these were 
uncommonly large and fine, and we thought them deli- 



TOUR BY PERUGIA, 273 

cious, especially the cousins, who were just coming 
into Italy ; and they bought them in quantities. 

A few miles out of Perugia is the town of Assisi, 
where there is a grand old church to the memory of 
St. Francis, who was a devoted monk, who spent his 
life in poverty and in doing good, and who is deeply 
revered by the Roman Catholics. It is a beautiful 
excursion to make, the church and town stand so pic- 
turesquely on a hillside as you approach it. But it 
was too difficult to go round that way with the car- 
riages and luggage, and all did not care about going : 
therefore, very early the next morning, before the oth- 
ers started, Cousin Hatty and her brother, and Nannine 
and myself, took a post-chaise and went there, intend- 
ing to get back and meet them on the road by 
the time they should arrive. It was but six o'clock 
when we set out, scarcely daylight at this time 
of the year, and very cool ; but we were well wrapped 
up. The postilion in his gay costume, with hat and 
feathers, and his long boots which came far above the 
knee, seated astride the forward horse, dashed on in 
great style and flourish ; and we enjoyed exceedingly 
our rapid drive in the fresh morning air. Soon the 
sun began to rise, throwing his golden light over the 
vast panorama of hills and valleys ; and whole little 
lakes of mist, rising and nestling among them here and 
there, added much to the beauty of the scene. When 

18 



274 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

we approached the church, standing so noble and lofty 
upon an acclivity, the view was exceedingly beautiful. 

The church is very old, and contains paintings by 
the oldest masters, Cimabue and Giotto, who were 
living at the time it was built. They were the very 
first painters who painted at all in the modern style 
of art, and were called the revivers of painting; for 
pictures before their time were strange-looking figures, 
with neither grace nor beauty. And even theirs are 
very different from any that are painted now, although 
they were considered quite beautiful in their day ; but 
they are at present so faded and worn, that many of 
them can scarcely be seen. 

After stopping as long as we had time to spare, we 
jumped again into our post-chaise, and with our dash- 
ing postilion, who would sometimes almost startle us 
with his fast driving down the hills, we soon returned. 
In half an hour or little more, we were again upon the 
high road, and were very glad to find that we had not 
kept the rest of the party waiting with the carriages ; 
for they had not yet come up. 

They came soon, however ; and we were all packed 
in again, and by noon had reached Foligno, where we 
dined. It was for this town that Raphael painted one 
of his most celebrated pictures, — the Coronation of the 
Virgin, which is now in Rome, in the Vatican Palace. 

The next place of interest was the Falls of Terni, 



TOUR BY PERUGIA. 275 

the most famed waterfalls of Italy. They, too, are 
off the direct road; and we were driven out in a 
carryall. The falls are very beautiful; but in going 
about to see them in all their different views, which 
took us an hour, we were beset by whole troops of 
beggars, men, women, and children. They thronged 
around us at every step, until our stout guide succeeded 
in sending them off only by throwing a whole handful 
of coppers among them, which the children's mamma 
commissioned him to do; and then they left us in 
peace to enjoy the view of the falls during the remain- 
der of the time. 

The last day of our journey, when we came upon the 
great Campagna which surrounds Rome, how natural it 
all looked! And now, on Wednesday evening, the 
8th of November, after a seven-days' journey, we are 
at length at home again ; and all looks so beautiful 
after nearly six months' absence ! indeed, it seems too 
much time to have spent away from so beautiful a 
place. The reason we have been away so long is 
because the cholera has prevailed very much this sea- 
son, and it was very bad in Rome; and the children's 
papa was not willing that the family should return 
until the sickness was over. It is now very much di- 
minished, although there are still many cases of it. 

The evening we arrived, baby sat erect in the nurse's 
arms, and fixed his little eyes on every thing most 



276 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

observingly in his new home, as if he, too, thought it 
beautiful. In a few months, he was large enough for 
his clear papa to take and carry about the room to see 
the pictures, which he did every evening after the 
work of the day was over, and which the little fellow 
seemed to enjoy very much. 



CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 277 



FIFTH YEAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 

Rome, Christmas. 

My dear L. . . . I wonder what kind of a day 
you are having for Christmas. Here it is most lovely ; 
the sky without a cloud, and as soft and serene as pos- 
sible. It is so clear, that we see on the distant Apen- 
nines the white snow stretched all along their summits. 
The nearer mountains, the Sabine and Alban Hills, 
are rarely covered with snow : only two or three times 
in the course of the winter there may be a little fall of 
the white and feathery drapery, which lasts two or 
three days. . . . 

We are going to have a chicken-pie for dinner, after 
our New-England fashion ; for we all voted we should 
like to have one. Only a few family friends, with the 
aunt and cousins who came with us from Florence, will 
dine with us ; but, in the evening, there will be quite a 
little party of Americans, and we are going to play 



278 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

games, — "Magic Music" "Clap in and Clap out," 
"Blind-man's Buff," &c. All the Americans like to be 
invited here; for the children's papa and mamma always 
make it very pleasant and social for visitors. The par- 
lor is large, and looks very beautiful, too, in the even- 
ing, when it is well lighted. 

The children are having a most happy time with 
their gift-dolls, toys, and books. Instead of a tree, they 
had stockings hung up this year ; and they were quite 
running over. One of Nannine's presents was " Robin- 
son Crusoe," which she had never read, but had long 
been desiring to possess. She is highly delighted with 
it; for she is a great reader, and "devours" all the books 
she can get. This was my present to her j and I had 
from her a ring set with beautiful garnets, which was 
purchased all secretly in Florence while we were 
there ! 

Their papa has had made for Nannine and Gianina 
a beautiful baby-house. It has a roof and little chim- 
neys, and windows and doors painted* on the outside, 
making it look like a real house. It is quite large, 
with parlor, bed-room, dining-room, and kitchen ; and 
they have beautiful little sets of furniture for each 
room, — chairs and a sofa covered with red satin for 
the parlor ; for the sleeping apartment, a lovely toilet- 
stand and wardrobe, and bed with pretty lace cur- 
tains; and in the kitchen, which I think they enjoy as 



CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 279 

much as any part, is a whole cooking-range, supplied 
with every article of convenience. All these things 
have been presents from different persons, but not all 
this year : they had had them from time to time, and 
had kept them nice until now. The kitchen-set of 
iron-ware was furnished anew by their mamma. We 
saw it when we were out one day shopping. It was 
so complete, with every part so perfectly made, she 
thought the two girls would be highly delighted 
with it; and they are. They are extremely fond of 
getting bits of dough and paste from the kitchen, and 
making it up into little cakes to put into the little 
spiders, and so forth. 

They have the baby-house now in their own room ; 
for, since we returned home, Nannine and Gianina have 
been promoted to a room by themselves* for the first 
time, excepting while we were at the Baths of Lucca. 
I was truly sorry to part with them, who had been with 
me nights as well as days for so long a time ; for Gia- 
nina had also roomed with us the last year. But it was 
thought it would be better for them — make them feel 
more responsible — to have only the maid to look 
after them. They have now a new maid, a French 
woman. This keeps up their practice in French very 
well. 

The servants were changed almost all round in the 



280 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

course of this year. The good nurse Pina had become 
very much out of health. She had had the care of the 
children, Gianina particularly, for a long time ; and was 
getting to be almost too old to do so much, for she 
never would spare herself. She made the greatest pet 
of Gianina, and indulged her so much, that her papa 
and mamma were afraid she would be spoiled. When 
Gianina was a little thing, but quite able to walk, she 
would often carry her in her arms when they were out 
walking, when her papa and mamma thought it not at 
all necessary ; but she would do it, notwithstanding all 
they could say. She was now so much of an invalid, 
it seemed best that she should be relieved. It was 
very hard for her to leave, and very hard for the chil- 
dren to part with her ; but at length she consented, and 
went to an uncle's, living near Naples, where her old 
home was, and where she would be well taken care of. 
Marguerite, the French woman, is now in her place. 

The cook, who was Lolla's mother, has also gone 
away ; and there is a good man-servant in her place. 
And our trim little Lolla, too, has gone. She is mar- 
ried, and gone to housekeeping. She looks very gen- 
teel and nice by her husband's side, who is footman to 
some prince or other. Instead of her, we have The- 
resa, the wife of Josef, who was married many months 
ago ; but she did not then come here to live. She is an 
excellent woman, very capable and obliging. Josef is 



CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 281 

the only one of the old servants remaining, excepting 
Maria, who was at the Baths of Lucca with us, and 
who comes every day to take Memie out to walk, or to 
help carry the baby. Mary, the English girl, proves 
to be such a good, faithful nurse, that we all consider it 
a very fortunate choice. She is so strict about the 
baby ! she will have him taken care of only just so and 
so. But he grows finely under her care. 

January. — Letters came from America, giving an 
account of a pretty tree dressed with presents for little 
Anna's birthday, which occurred a day or two before 
Christmas. Her mamma wrote, " We made ornaments 
of tissue-paper; and every thing was very pretty and 
tasteful after the tree was all arranged. The children 
invited came at four, and had games by themselves until 
nearly five. Then they were taken into the room where 
the tree was lighted ; and all of them, with the grown 
people present, joined hands, and danced two or three 
times round the tree. Then a piece of poetry was read 
about it, and they played again until supper-time ; after 
which, the presents were distributed. The mottoes 
attached to them were very pretty indeed. Tommy 
(Anna's baby brother, who was sucking his little fist 
in the daguerrotype, and who was now between two 
and three years of age) was perfectly delighted with his 
little boy. He was almost crazy to touch it while on 



282 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the tree, and to play with it ; and wanted some one to 
'unbutton its jacket.' Anna was much pleased with a 
handsome little cake and some cunning little doll's 
shoes which were sent to her." 

Her dear grandpapa, who loved Anna very much, 
wrote for her these few lines: — 

" I am six years old to-day, 
As dear papa and mamma say. 
How kind and good they are to me ! 
And good and kind to them I'll be. 

In all I say and do and tell, 
I'll ever try to please them well; 
Then God will bless me from above, 
And I shall ever share his love." 

The "little boy" that was sent to Tommy, and 
whose "jacket" he wanted to "unbutton," was the 
cunningest little fellow, the letter said, that ever was : 
he had on his left arm a hoop, and in his right hand a 
stick. Grandpapa named him George Gingerbread, 
for he was made of gingerbread ; and he sent with him 
these odd little lines to Tommy : — 

" Halloo, Tommy ! I'm the boy for you ! Come on 
with your hoop, and let us have a drive. 

" Christmas is coming, 
And we'll not be dumming ; 
For soon Santa Claus will be here. 
He's a jolly old fellow, 
Always jovial and mellow: 



CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 283 

And, before he is knocking, 

We'll put up the stocking; 

For he brings bundles of laff (laugh), 

And of frolic, not chaff, 

And a rare lot of goodies, 

For those who've well done 

Their lessons at school 

And their duties at home. 

Then hurrah for Santa Claus ! 

Let us mind all his laws ; 

For he comes once a year, 

And expects to find here 

All the good and the true : 

May he find me and you ! " 

Anna packed up a box of tiny things from the tree 
to send to her grandmamma and aunts, — little bags 
made of nut-shells and pretty silk ; a little mite of a 
basket, about large enough to hold a very small needle- 
book, spool, and thimble ; little bon-bons, pin-cushions, 
etc., all on the small scale, " looking as cunning as the 
little girl herself." For grandmamma, there was a 
sweet little pin-cushion worked with worsted on can- 
vas, — Anna's own work. 

The same package of letters contained also an ac- 
count of a fine Christmas-cake that was made for the 
children at grandpapa's (for Anna's tree was at her 
own house) : — 

" In the centre of the table was a nice plum-cake, 
with a gold ring in it. It was decorated with tasteful 



284 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

little streamers of paper, on which were written these 
mottoes : — 

1. Who chooses aright a slice of cake 
From among the plums a ring will take. 

2. Some will look high, some will look low; 
Yet both may pass the golden glow. 

3. A golden ring, a golden ring ! 

If Eliza should find it, she'd dance, and sing, 
" A golden ring, a golden ring ! " 

4. Fanny must try ; for she may win 
The slice of cake with the golden ring. 

6. Closer, George ; look deeper in ; 

For the ore is richer than copper or tin. 

6. Carrie, with sparkling eye so bright, 
Will seek the prize with wild delight. 

7. Heigh-ho ! Horace will try, 
If he can, the ring to spy. 

8. Molly the witch, and Molly the sprite, 
Will get, if she can, the ring to-night. 

9. Johnnie may try, though but four years old, 
In this nice plum-cake, for the ring of gold. 

" After the children had taken their slices, and every 
one else had been helped to a piece, no ring appeared. 
A good deal of the cake still remained, and they were 
thinking of searching for it, when it was proclaimed 



CHRISTMAS GAMES, TOYS, AND RHYMES. 285 

that Eliza had found it in her slice. All were exceed- 
ingly glad that it fell to her ; for she had not been well 
for a day or two, and was not able to enter into the 
merry Christmas proceedings so wildly as the rest 
were doing." 



286 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER II. 

BIRTHDAY AND VALENTINE PARTIES. 

During this month (January), we had a cake with 
a ring in it also. I must give you an account, from 
the beginning, of the beautiful and successful time we 
had. It was on Nannine's birthday. The children had 
never seen any little play : so we thought we would 
have the acting of Miss Edgeworth's " Old Poz " for 
their gratification ; and not only theirs, but there was 
quite an assemblage of ladies and gentlemen also to 
witness it. In the first place, the parlor was very 
bright and beautiful ; and the play was performed at 
one end of it, there being a side-door to pass 
through. 

Then Mrs. Bustle the landlady, and Old Poz, and the 
old man, and Lucy, and the servant (which part was 
acted by a young gentleman from New York, who 
turned the character into a black servant, and made it 
very comical), were all ready, and the blackbird in 
the cage, and the old man's money in a box. 



BIRTHDAY AND VALENTINE PARTIES. 287 

When the screen was drawn aside, Lucy was the 
first to appear, with a watering-pot in her hand, water- 
ing flowers. She was dressed in a pink frock, with a 
little silk apron. Then the old man with a cane and 
a long gray beard appeared upon the stage, telling the 
pitiful story of his losing his money, which he thought 
was stolen. Then old Poz was seen eating his break- 
fast, with Lucy trying so hard to tell him about the 
poor old man ; and the landlady coming and talking 
about the goose-pie ; and at last Lucy bringing in the 
blackbird that had carried off the money! It all 
seemed quite real, and was very entertaining, and very 
much enjoyed and applauded. 

There were a few charades acted afterwards, and 
then the birthday cake was brought in. Besides the 
ring, it was also announced there was a bean in the 
cake; and any lady in the company who should get 
the bean was expected to give it to any gentleman 
she pleased ; and, if a gentleman should get the ring, 
he was to give it to any lady he preferred. 

As the cake was in honor of Nannine's birthday, she 
was expected to cut the first slice ; but, being too shy 
before so many persons, she did not wish to do this, 
and the few other children who were there were 
helped before her. But when she cut finally, and the 
slice was in her hand, lo and behold, there was the ring 
also ! quite to the astonishment of all, that, in a party 



288 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

of more than sixty persons, it should have fallen to her 
for whom the party was given. 

Some of the guests thought it must have been so de- 
signed ; but it was entirely accidental, the ring having 
been put into the cake at the confectioner's, and no 
one having seen it until it was in her hand. As to the 
bean, it never was forthcoming! The excitement or 
curiosity was kept up to the last slice, and then it was 
supposed to have been swallowed. But the truth is, 
the confectioner, by mistake or from some misunder- 
standing, did not put it in. 

February. — We grown ones have had another 
amusing time in a Valentine party, which the chil- 
dren's aunt and cousins had. Each lady and gentleman 
wrote a Valentine for a name that had been drawn 
beforehand, and which was sealed up when drawn. 
Then, when the evening of the party came, the Valen- 
tines were all thrown together and drawn again, — 
those of the ladies by the gentlemen, and the gentle- 
men's by the ladies ; and each gentleman presented to 
the lady who received his a bouquet, and each lady 
fastened a ribbon bow on the shoulder of the gentle- 
man who received hers. The two funny Valentines 
which follow were written for the two gentlemen's 
names which came to our share. 

The first gentleman, a little while before, had per- 
sonated the character of a lady in a little play ; and he 



BIRTHDAY AND VALENTINE PARTIES. 289 

went also by the sobriquet of the " Modern Raphael," 
which explains the allusion in the verses : — 

1. " Boggs ! " — What a name ! 
Yet 'tis all the same 

In poetry or verse ; 

And I truly rejoice 

That I had no choice, 

Or perchance it might have been worse. 

2. In the nick of time, 

I have found a rhyme 

To couple with my Boggs ; 

And I would have him believe, 

On St. Valentine's Eve, 

That my Muse is chorused by frogs I 

3. My Boggs, alas ! 
Has an alias, 

And passes for Julia Standwell; 
But the name I prefer 
Both for him and for her 
Is the mud-ern Raphael. 

4. But sweet Valentine, 
I am ever thine, 

Let the name be what it may; 
And I venture to hope 
That your fair eyes may ope 
On many returns of this day. 

The other gentleman had acted in the same play 
the part of a widow, Mrs. Juniper. 

19 



290 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

1. Dear Mrs. Juniper, I hope you may not prefer 

Any other damsel to me ; 
But, if it is so, I'll not give you my bow, 
However disappointed you be. 

2. A widow like you, I know should be true 

To her long-lost Juniper-berry ; 
But in Carnival-time it would not be a crime 
To join me in making so merry. 

3. And oh ! hear me declare, — with thy raven hair, 

And thy cheeks as red as a poppy, 
If thou wilt but be mine for this one Valentine 
I'll never again be un-HOPPY ! 

The aunt and cousins had a very lively time at the 
Carnival this year: it was the first time they had 
seen it, and they thought it delightful. They had a 
large balcony which would hold twenty persons, and 
we all of us went several times. Nannine and Gianina 
particularly enjoyed it very much. As they are 
larger, they can do more and more every year, being 
able to throw the confetti now, or toss a bouquet very 
nicely. 



ACTING OF MONKEYS AND DOGS. 291 



CHAPTER III. 

ACTING OF MONKEYS AND DOGS. 

I must tell you of an exhibition of monkeys and 
dogs which we went to see one evening. It was a 
very comical affair. 

The first scene showed half a dozen monkeys all 
dressed, and seated at a table, eating their dinner. 
They were big fellows, most of them, and of a spe- 
cies we never had seen before. Their heads were 
extraordinarily large, more like the head of an ox 
than any thing else. There was a pretty wee one, that 
did errands, bringing bottles of wine and so forth for 
the master, and always taking a sip when she could get 
a chance ! 

In another scene were two conscript-soldiers. The 
monkeys were dressed in uniform, with swords; and 
they went through various evolutions, sheathing and 
drawing their swords, and fencing, in a very droll 
way. Then there was circus-riding, the monkeys per- 
forming the feats of horsemanship that are usually 
performed in a circus, such as springing over banners, 
jumping through hoops, et cetera. 



292 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

There was one cunning little monkey that did all 
these things beautifully. She looked like the tiniest 
little girl, and rode sweetly on the pony. 

There is no saying what the dogs did not do. They 
waltzed and spun round in a marvellous manner ; fired 
off pistols ; and one, personating a deserter, was shot 
at, and acted dead admirably: two others coming 
along with a little cart, he was picked up and put into 
it, and carried off by them. 

There was a beautiful, fat, snow-white goat, trained 
to walk on her knees, and to do other things very in- 
telligently. 

The animals were all wonderfully trained. 

The last scene was the storming of a town. There 
was a patrol of monkeys, mounted on horses, and 
wearing long white cloaks like those that the mounted 
guard in Rome always wear on evening occasions. 
They looked droll enough. 

The soldiers were represented by a troop of dogs 
that scaled the walls, rushing into the thickest of the 
fight, with muskets flashing all around, and the fire 
glaring on all sides. They really showed great courage 
and daring, vying with the troops at Sebastopol, we 
thought ! 

I read once a curious story of a dog and a doctor, 
which may help to show the way in which such ani- 



ACTING OF MONKEYS AND DOGS. 293 

nials are trained.* It was about a small dog that was 
very much injured by the indulgence of his mistress. 

This little creature belonged to a rich lady, who, 
with all her riches and her fine living, did not possess 
the soundest sense in the world. She loved her little 
dog, and gave him all possible attention. He had to 
eat the richest of food, bread and butter, sweetmeats, 
and meat most deliciously cooked ; and, for drink, he 
had coffee and tea, with milk and sugar, and also beer 
and wine. He slept always upon a soft and beautiful 
cushion of silk. Almost the whole day long he was 
eating or drinking, or was sitting in the arms of his 
mistress, or sleeping upon his cushion. He grew so fat, 
that, in a short time, he was not able to take any exer- 
cise at all. This made him peevish and irritable ; and 
then he gave up entirely his play, refused to eat, and, 
in short, became truly ill. 

The injudicious but kind-hearted mistress took the 
dog to a doctor, and begged him to cure him. The 
doctor replied that he could do so ; but it would be 
necessary, he said, to keep the dog at his own house a 
while. It was not a pleasant idea to the lady to leave 
her favorite in the hands of another; but the doctor 
would not undertake the cure on any other conditions. 
Therefore, finally, she left him, and went away, with 

* This story, after being read, was put into Italian; and this is a 
translation from that version. 



294 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the expectation of returning in a few days to take him 
again, as the doctor said she would be able to do. 

When the lady was gone, the doctor commenced his 
remedy. He took a long whip that was in a little closet 
in the room, and snapped it loudly. The dog heard 
it, but did not move : he only snarled and growled a 
little. Then the doctor gave him a touch with the whip ; 
when he immediately sprang, and ran, as well as he 
was able, round the room. He was quickly tired out. 
However, this little exercise was good for him, and 
was what the doctor wished. He then placed a piece 
of dry bread and some water before him ; but the little 
creature would not taste any of it: so the doctor went 
away, and carried the food with him. When night 
came, there was nothing for the little dog to sleep 
upon but the hard pavement, or floor. The next 
morning the doctor returned, and took the whip from 
the little closet. It was only necessary to snap it : the 
dog immediately began to run as before, and went 
round and round the room. After thinking he had 
sufficient exercise for that time, the doctor placed the 
bread and water before him, and left him alone. This 
time he ate with a good appetite after his fasting, and 
slept well. 

In the evening, the moment the doctor entered and 
took the whip as usual, even without his snapping it, 
the little creature began to run, and did not stop until 



ACTING OF MONKEYS AND DOGS. 295 

he was ordered to ! Then he was very hungry, and 
ate extremely well the simple food which was given to 
him, and at night he slept profoundly. The next 
morning there was no more need of the whip, since he 
was perfectly well, and ran and played and frolicked 
with the doctor. Soon the lady came to receive him. 
She was extremely pleased on seeing him so well re- 
covered, and thanked and paid the doctor, and carried 
the little dog home with her. 



296 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES EST ROME. 

March 6. — The spring is coming on beautifully. 
The weather, in general, has been perfect of late. The 
soft blossoms of the almond-trees are scattered over all 
the gardens and villas. Several flowers are in bloom 
in our garden, — anemones, hyacinths, tulips, laurusti- 
nus, etc. ; and the children, as usual, have a daily de- 
light in picking them, especially the violets, which they 
are never tired of tying up in sweet bunches. 

We had a charming drive yesterday — Nannine and 
myself, with a lady friend — to the Aventine Hill and 
around the Palatine. These hills are on the edge, or 
one side, of the city. From the Aventine, the views are 
very lovely. The Tiber on one side, very yellow in- 
deed, runs along its base ; and on either bank of it are 
the buildings of the city. On the other side of the 
hill, the country stretches far out with picturesque 
walls and buildings, and Monte Testacceo, as green as 
an emerald. This latter is a mound-like hill, perfectly 
bare of trees, but covered with grass. It has been 



SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES IN ROME. 297 

formed by a collection of broken pottery and other 
rubbish which was thrown there in former times. 

From the Aventine, we rode round the Palatine, 
which is rendered picturesque by the noble ruins of 
the Palace of the Caesars. Here the emperors of old 
times lived, and Nero built the " Golden House ; " 
so called because it was so very magnificent. In those 
days, the palaces covered nearly the whole hill. We 
got out of the carriage, and rambled around among the 
ruins, and visited some other antiquities. One was the 
Cloaca Maxima, which is the great sewer of the city of 
Rome now, as it was when it was first built, twenty- 
five hundred years ago ; but we could see only a very 
small part of it. We went to the pretty circular Tem- 
ple of Vesta, which is as old as the time of the Empe- 
ror Vespasian, — the same emperor, who, with his son 
Titus, besieged and took the city of Jerusalem about 
thirty years after the death of our Saviour. It was they 
also who built the Coliseum, which was quite com- 
pleted about ten years after Jerusalem was captured. 
The marble columns of the little Temple of Vesta are 
very pretty and graceful ; but the temple itself, inside, 
is now all filled up with hay or straw and rubbish. 
This was one of the temples built for the worship of 
the heathen deities, and is therefore interesting, as 
there are but few of such ruins now remaining. 

Near this is the Ponte Rotto, which stands on the 



298 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

foundations of the very first stone bridge, as is sup- 
posed, which was built in Rome, in the time of Scipio 
Africanus, who carried the war against Carthage into 
Africa, and defeated Hannibal there.* He was one of 
the magistrates of the city when that stone bridge was 
finished ; and he therefore, very probably, had some- 
thing to do about it. 

8th. — To-day, Nannine, Gianina, and I dined at the 
Coliseum ; that is, we took our cold lunch with us, and 
had a picnic there. The girls enjoyed it highly. It 
is but twenty minutes' walk from our house, and we 
often go in the same manner. We rambled about, up 
and down the steps, along the corridors, and among 
the broken walls and seats, picking up little fragments 
of pretty stones which belonged to the ancient mate- 
rials and ornaments, and gathering the few flowers 
that we could reach. The Coliseum is now very lovely, 
with soft green verdure here and there, and bright- 
yellow wall-flowers sprinkled over it like stars. But 
these flowers are generally very high up, among the 
crevices of the arches, and cornices of the walls, which 
makes it difficult for us to get them. It needs some 
man or boy to climb up to those perilous- places, and 
reach them ; for they are often on the very topmost 
edge of the high ruin. Sometimes, when we have had 
some one with us, they have got for us handfuls of the 

* See the companion volume. 



SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES IN ROME. 299 

bright-yellow flowers, and, once in a while, a sprig of 
the beautiful purple lady's-slipper. 

I have told you yet nothing of the Coliseum ; but 
every one knows that it is one of the grandest old 
ruins in the world. It was finished and dedicated in 
the year 79 or 80 ; so that it is about eighteen hundred 
years old. It was large enough to hold between 
eighty and ninety thousand persons. It was of an 
oval form ; and the seats inside, tier above tier, went 
all around it. It was the grand amphitheatre where 
all the great public games went on, on which occa- 
sions they had shows of gladiators and wild-beast 
fights. Thousands and thousands of wild beasts were 
brought there for this purpose. They were kept in 
vaults below, and were drawn up in their cages 
through traps in the floor of the arena, which occu- 
pied all the centre of the edifice. The doors of the 
cages were made to fall open of themselves when 
drawn up, and the animal would leap out ; and then 
the cage was lowered down again. They were fear- 
ful shows, such as we see and know nothing of now ; 
but the most painful part of it is, that, when the perse- 
cutions of the Christians took place in those early 
times, some of them also were cruelly placed here to 
be put to death, and the wild beasts were let loose 
upon them. The good bishop, St. Ignatius, a disci- 
ple and friend of the Apostle John, thus died in the 



300 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Coliseum, killed by lions. We take the following 
interesting account of the event from history,* for our 
larger readers : — 

"It is certain that Ignatius had been intimately 
acquainted with the apostles ; that he had been educat- 
ed and brought up amongst them, and was chosen by 
them to be Bishop of Antioch. For forty years he 
had retained this charge. They were stormy years, 
full of anxiety and danger. By prayer and fasting 
and preaching, Ignatius had kept his people together, 
and supported them under the terrors of persecution. 
For himself he had one longing, — to be a martyr in 
his Master's cause. 

" He was now, however, an old man. It may have 
appeared likely that the aged bishop would be allowed 
to depart in peace; but the tempest was at hand. 
Trajan, the Roman emperor, entered Antioch: he 
passed through the city with all the pomp and solem- 
nity of a Roman triumphal procession. . . . But 
there was one man to whom the emperor's arrival was 
the signal of death. The shouts of the multitude, as 
they followed their sovereign through the splendid 
street, were the prelude to the shouts which were 
soon to accompany the dying agonies of Ignatius. . . . 
The Christians were called upon to join in paying hon- 
ors to their monarch, which their faith forbade. . . . 

* Miss Se wall's History of the Early Church. 



SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES IN HOME. 301 

The citizens of Antioch were in a state of excitement 
when they found that the Christians did not unite with 
them. . . . Ignatius also became aware of the dan- 
ger to which he and his brethren were exposed, and, 
without waiting to be accused, hastened to the pres- 
ence of Trajan, and declared himself a Christian. . . . 
He was then examined and questioned ; and the em- 
peror decreed that he should c be carried in bonds by- 
soldiers to the great Rome, there to be thrown to the 
beasts for the gratification of the people.' . . . He 
joyfully suffered his bonds to be put upon him. The 
journey of Ignatius was long and very fatiguing, . . . 
the soldiers also being very impatient, ... as it was 
feared he might otherwise arrive at Rome too late for 
the public shows in the amphitheatre, in which he was 
to suffer. ... As they approached Rome, many of 
the Christians, being prepared for his arrival, went out 
to meet him, some rejoicing in the opportunity afford- 
ed them of beholding a man so venerated for his wis- 
dom and piety ; others only- anxious for his safety, and 
desirous of taidng measures to calm the people, that 
they might not desire his death. Ignatius, however, 
soon put a* stop to any such intentions. . . . He 
persuaded them not to hinder him 4 who was hasten- 
ing to the Lord.' . . . 

" The thirteenth of the calends of January, accord- 
ing to the Roman reckoning, ... a day of pecu- 



302 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

liar solemnity, . . . had now arrived. The people 
were gathered in crowds, and the games were nearly- 
over : no further delay, therefore, was allowed. Igna- 
tius was hurried to the amphitheatre : the wild beasts 
were let loose upon him, and death soon followed." 

The Coliseum is now consecrated to the memory 
of those noble Christian heroes and martyrs, who never 
shrank or turned away from the fearful trials thus 
placed before them. Every little while, the Roman 
priests and monks have preaching and prayers there. 
And we had rather see it as it is, a ruin, because the 
scenes and times are now so changed, than to have 
seen it in all the pride and glory of its former days. 
It is quiet, but grand and beautiful, and a delightful 
place to visit. 

There are often troops of boys there, playing and 
shouting, running in and out, which makes it the more 
pleasant and cheerful. 

After our lunch at the Coliseum, we went through 
the sculpture-gallery at the Capitol, which is not far 
from the Coliseum, — the Forum lying between them. 
It stands on the very spot where the Capitol stood in 
ancient times, when the Gauls climbed up by night to 
get into the fortress as it was then, and the geese 
cackled. The hill has been gradually dug away since 
those times, and now a long flight of steps leads up to 
the entrance. 



SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES IN ROME. 303 

It used to be a place for offices, but is now occupied 
as a gallery of art. Here is the famous statue of the 
Dying Gladiator, which is so celebrated. It is a very 
grand but mournful figure. It looks so melancholy! 
as he is sitting upon the ground, perhaps upon the 
battle-field, ready to die, far away from his home and 
his children. He is supposed to have been a soldier, 
not a Roman, but a Gaul (one of the barbarians, as 
the Romans used to call them), although it goes by 
the name of " Gladiator." Gladiators were those who 
fought with each other in the Coliseum and other 
places, for exhibition at public games, or entertain- 
ments for the people. 

In this gallery, or museum, is a room filled with 
busts of the distinguished men of the times of the Re- 
public and of the Empire of Rome. There are the 
Scipios and the Catos, and Cicero and Pompey, and 
Julius CaBsar and Marcus Brutus, and the many em- 
perors who came afterwards. 

And there are also busts of philosophers and poets, 
and other famed men, — Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, 
Homer and Virgil, Sophocles, Demosthenes, Herodotus, 
Seneca, &c. Although many of these men were Greeks, 
their statues and busts were as common in Rome as 
those of the Romans themselves. 

It seems very strange to see all these busts of the 
men of ancient times around you ; and it enables one 



304 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

to see how much the art of sculpture was employed 
in those days. Indeed, it was employed an immense 
deal; for, besides living men, the deities were rep- 
resented in innumerable statues. There are gods 
and goddesses in every variety of figure ; Jupiters and 
Apollos and Mercurys and Venuses and Minervas and 
Dianas and others. Probably, all those who could afford 
it in ancient times were ambitious to have some of 
these figures in their houses ; and all the palaces, and 
country villas, and public buildings, were beautifully 
adorned with them. Niches, or places in the walls, 
both inside and outside, were made expressly for 
them. 

The Vatican Museum in Rome is another great and 
splendid gallery of art, the largest and most beautiful 
in the world.* 

March 12. — The children, baby and all, with their 
maid and the nurse, were going to be sent to the Villa 
Doria, to run about and pick wild-flowers, as they have 
frequently done ; and I jumped into the carriage with 
them, it was so bright a day. We took our lunch with 
us, and had a picnic under the trees. The grounds are 
very large, and are beautiful with groves of lofty pine- 
trees, and lawns covered with green grass, which is 
sprinkled now with anemones and daisies. It is much 
like an English park, I fancy. Though fine, the air was 

* See page 342. 



SCENES AND ANTIQUITIES IN ROME. 305 

unusually cool to-day ; so there was not quite as much 
enjoyment as there might otherwise have been. We 
had, however, a very nice time, walking about to look 
at the beautiful fountains, and filling our baskets with 
flowers. The children are never so happy, I believe, 
as when picking flowers ; but, when there is such an 
abundance of them, they become very fastidious, and 
will empty out a basketful ever so many times to fill 
it with those that seem still fresher and finer. Nannine 
is almost wild about flowers. She began to study a 
little book of botany last summer at the Baths of Luc- 
ca ; and, being so very fond of them, it interested her 
very much. 

April, Tuesday after Easter. — After dinner yester- 
day (we dine now at half -past two), Nannine went out 
with me, stopping at aunty's. She was to stay, and 
accompany her aunt — who had the opportunity of 
going to a private room in the American minister's 
house — to see the fireworks in the evening. Our 
minister is himself absent, and his rooms are not open 
as they usually are on such occasions ; and the Ameri- 
cans have all been obliged to accommodate themselves 
wherever they could. He left permission, however, to 
open one or two rooms for certain invalids, and aunty 
had also the privilege of going there. I went with 
some friends, we all of us expecting to stand in the 

Square : but in a short time we all had the opportunity 
20 



306 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY, 

of going into the same rooms with aunty and Nan- 
nine, quite to our satisfaction ; for there we could see 
the fireworks beautifully, and were not exposed to the 
crowd. They were magnificent. I cannot describe 
any thing half so splendid and beautiful. Some of the 
most beautiful were flowing cascades of golden sands, 
as it were. The grand escapade of rockets at the end 
was like a whole firmament of falling stars, and had a 
magnificent effect. 

The aunt and cousins are going shortly to Naples ; 
and Nannine and myself are going with them to stay a 
few weeks. Nannine has not been very well of late; 
and it is thought that the sea-air of Naples, and perhaps 
the salt-bathing, may do her good. 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS.— POMPEII. 307 



CHAPTER V. 

VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 

Early in May, we made the journey to Naples by 
vettura, — five of us. Cousin Hatty and Cousin M. 
were always in the coupee in front; aunty, Nannine, 
and myself had all the inside of the carriage, with the 
exception of one corner being taken up with shawls, 
cloaks, baskets, and a huge cake of gingerbread, which 
we had provided for lunch. It was a four-days' jour- 
ney. Soon we were out upon the broad Campagna. 
When we reached Albano, we stopped there long 
enough to visit again the lovely Villa Cesarini: and in 
the pond in the garden the same beautiful white swans 
were sailing, and pluming their wings, as when we 
were there before; but they had grown immensely, 
we thought. 

On the journey, we passed the Appii Forum, the place 
so interesting from the incident of St. Paul's stopping 
there when he was brought a prisoner to Rome, and 
where the Christian friends from Rome came to meet 
him. We crossed the famous Pontine Marshes, which 



30S CHILD-LIFE IJST ITALY. 

he, too, then crossed. They are said to make one very- 
sleepy; but we did not perceive that they had any 
such effect upon us. There were herds of buffaloes 
moving about in the marshes. We passed the Prom- 
ontory of Circe, where, as the story relates, Ulysses 
but just escaped falling into the snares of the enchant- 
ress. It looked almost like an island, it rose up so bold 
and lofty on the coast. And at Terracina, where we 
stopped one night, we came upon a whole village of 
Gypsies, as they appeared to us. They were living in 
huts, and looked just like the pictures and descriptions 
that we have seen of Gypsies ; such little weird places 
their small rooms were, with a fire in the centre, and a 
kettle hanging over it, and they cooking their dinner, 
the women with short red gowns on, and kerchiefs on 
their necks. 

As soon as we came upon the borders of the king- 
dom of Naples, the children in the streets, whenever 
the carriage stopped, flocked around us, and made the 
most comical signs and gestures with their hands and 
mouths to signify that they wanted us to give them 
something to eat. Their black eyes were so sparkling 
and shrewd, and they acted every thing out in such a 
droll way, we could not help laughing in their faces. 
This is the famous pantomime of Naples. I believe 
they are too lazy to talk; and so they make signs in 
this way. 



VISIT TO NAPLES — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 309 

Before arriving at Naples, we heard that Mount 
Vesuvius was on fire. " Oh, that is grand ! " we ex- 
claimed, although it startled us a little at first ; and 
dear aunty wanted to turn right back to Rome. 
She thought it would be terrible to be so near if there 
should be an eruption. But we all persuaded her that 
it would be the finest thing in the world to see, and 
what we should enjoy above all things. I do not 
suppose it occurred to any of us that the city would 
really be overwhelmed, — it was so many hundred 
years since such an event had happened, — or we 
might have felt more terrified about it than we did. 

When we entered the city the next evening, we 
were anxious to see how Vesuvius looked; but we 
could see nothing of the mountain until we nearly 
reached the hotel; and, as the melted lava was flowing 
down the side of it farthest from us, we did not see a 
great deal of the eruption then : it only looked like 
a large fire on the top of the mountain. 

In a day or two after we were settled in our board- 
ing-house, one of the first things we did was to ascend 
Mount Vesuvius, and see the eruption. Thousands of 
persons went out every day, or rather night ; for it was 
necessary to go by night in order to see it distinctly ; 
for, of course, the fire would not show very much in 
the daytime. So, an hour or two before dark, we took 
a carriage, and were driven out, — it is six miles from 



310 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the city, — and rode up as far as the Hermitage, — a 
house about half-way up the mountain. We could go 
no farther in a carriage, and there we had to take 
mules or horses. Some of us preferred to walk ; but 
two pretty white ponies were brought up for aunty 
and Nannine, and we set out on our "winding way." 
But aunty soon dismounted, not enjoying the rather 
perilous journey; and Cousin Hatty took her place. 
Then we went on. The path was sometimes very 
craggy indeed, and the night was dark ; but the guides 
had torches, and in the distance the whole sky was 
lighted by the streams of red lava which were flowing 
on miles and miles along the mountain. The red va- 
por, or smoke, that rose from it, looked as if it came 
from a city on fire. The lava melts and burns all that 
comes in its way as it flows on like a river ; and it had 
reached some towns or villages on the mountain-side, 
and the inhabitants had been obliged to leave them. 
We went on two miles, and then reached the new cra- 
ter which had been opened, and from which the lava 
was pouring; for the eruption did not proceed from 
the old crater, which is on the top of the mountain, 
but from a new one a little below. We went near 
enough to see the red-hot stones and sparks and flames 
thrown up in jets, as we see them in pictures; and 
the stream of lava, precisely like a golden river, or a 
river of red-hot melted iron, pouring out of the side of 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 311 

the crater; and to hear the terrible noise of thumping, 
hammering, and thundering underneath, as if all the 
giants of old time were assembled there, and were hav- 
ing a grand carousal. Or it was more like the old hea- 
then deities, and Vulcan himself at his forge ; and we 
did not wonder that people in those days had so many- 
stories about their mysterious doings underground: 
it seemed to us that we could imagine how such 
stories originated, and how they believed there were 
living beings in the earth who were making all this 
commotion; for Vesuvius has always been in such a 
state; and every few years, from time immemorial, 
there has been an eruption. 

We stood and looked over into the fiery stream that 
was running down ; but the cooled-off lava that was 
under our feet was still hot, so that we could stop but 
a little while. It hardens in a day or two, and be- 
comes perfectly black. It cools even more quickly 
than that when it is taken out from the melted mass ; 
for men were there with long poles having little ladles 
on the end, dipping up the lava, and putting it into 
small moulds while it was hot, sometimes dropping a 
coin or medal into it. We took one or two that were 
done while we were there, and which immediately 
became hard and black. 

Another night we went and saw the stream of fire 
rushing down over some rocks like a waterfall ; and, 



312 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

in one place, men were cutting a channel for it to run 
in to divert its course, that it might not destroy a 
bridge and town that were right in its way. We 
thought it all a very grand and sublime sight; and 
aunty was so fascinated, she couldn't bear to leave it : 
we could scarcely get her to go home, notwithstanding 
all her fears beforehand ! It was late enough when we 
returned, — long past midnight. 

Another excursion that we made — but this was in 
the daytime — was to see Pompeii, the city that was 
destroyed by an eruption of Vesuvius about eighteen 
hundred years ago. It is a long way from the moun- 
tain ; but a tremendous cloud or shower of ashes and 
rain came from there, and spread all around, reaching 
even as far as that rich and luxuriant city, completely 
covering and burying it. Most of the inhabitants, 
probably, had time to escape ; but one family took 
shelter in a cellar, and the marks are still left — 
though very dim — where they pressed up against the 
wall. For many hundred years, this city lay buried in 
the ground; for the ashes tad entirely filled it, and 
grass had grown over the top. But the earth has now 
been dug away in parts, and we see the streets and 
houses with their walls still standing just as they were 
built, but with no roofs over them. I suppose the 
roofs were burnt, or broken in by the load of ashes. It 
is pleasant, but strange, — there being no persons in 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 313 

them, — - to walk through the streets, just as they were 
laid out and paved in ancient times, with the rows 
of buildings all along. The little court-yards still re- 
main, with fountains in them ; but there is no water. 
There are pretty ornaments, such as small marble rab- 
bits and dogs, ducks, geese, and lambs, in some of 
them ; but most of the things that were found have 
been taken away, and placed in the large museum at 
Naples, where it is interesting to go and see them. 
All sorts of things are seen there ; even a loaf of bread 
as it came out of the baker's oven, only black, to be 
sure. It is round, marked in pie-pieces on the top, like 
some loaves that we have now. There is a jar of 
olives, sealed tight ; but you can see through the glass 
how real they are. There are ladies' netting-needles, 
and instruments for extracting teeth, and utensils for 
cooking, and stoves, etc. It would be impossible to 
name all the articles to be seen. 

One day, we made a long, delightful excursion to 
Baiae, and the places on the way, — places where the 
wealthy Romans and others had summer villas. In 
one of these, Scipio Africanus died ; and his daughter 
Cornelia,* the mother of the "jewels," lived there a 
part of the time. Here the young Augustus stopped, 
on his way home from Greece, where lie had been 
studying at an academy, which he left after his uncle, 

* See the companion volume. 



314 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

the great Julius Csesar, was assassinated ; and came on 
to Rome, where after a few years he became emperor, 
— the first emperor of Rome. 

One of the places on the way to Baiae was the 
Sibyls' Cave. Oh, what a strange place it was ! It 
seemed like going down into the regions of Pluto. 
It was into such a place as this that he might have 
carried the beautiful Proserpine when he seized upon 
her as she was gathering flowers. Only, I believe, 
he had a chariot and black horses; and no chariot 
and horses could have passed down this place. There 
is a long, narrow passage, as dark as midnight ; 
it goes winding down, down : you can only see just 
before you by the light of torches ; and the floor, or 
bottom, is covered with water. You could not go on 
foot ; and we were suddenly seized by the guides, and 
carried along, fearing and trembling; and, when we 
came to the end, there was a dark cave, where in 
old times the Sibyls dwelt. There is nothing in it 
now but a bed of stone and a bath : the Sibyls disap- 
peared long ages ago. 

One of the loveliest excursions we made was on 
the Mediterranean. We sailed in a little row-boat 
from the beautiful shores of Amalfi to the Blue 
Grotto. The day was lovely, and the sea sunny and 
smooth. The men — the rowers — were so merry, 
singing songs and calling out to animate each other, 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. '315 

that it was very amusing. "Macaroni! Macaroni! 
Buono macaroni! Macaroni a pranzo! Coraggio! 
Coraggio! Molto macaroni questa sera! quattro li- 
bri di macaroni ! " They seemed to think that this was 
the greatest treat in the world. Macaroni for dinner, 
and macaroni for supper, was all they desired ; and yet 
I suppose they eat and live on macaroni half the time ! 
When we arrived at the Island of Capri, where we 
staid all night, an entertainment was made for our 
amusement by the boatmen and the people of the house, 
in which macaroni performed a very conspicuous part. 
It was the Neapolitan dance, the Tarantella : yet each 
man and woman had a plate of macaroni which they 
held up over their heads as they danced ; and every lit- 
tle while they would throw back the head, and swallow 
a long string of the macaroni which they put into 
their mouth with the left hand while they were in mo- 
tion. I suppose the object was to show how skilfully 
they could do this ; but they let fall a great part of it 
on the floor, which to us was not at all agreeable : on 
the contrary, we thought it very disagreeable ; for they 
went on dancing all the same, right over it, which they 
did not seem to mind in the least ! 

While we were at Capri, we went to the top of the 
hill, — for the island rises in the form of a hill, — where 
were the ruins of an imperial villa. Nannine had a 
horse to ride : the rest of us thought we would walk ; 



316 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

but we were astonished to find what a long way it 
was. Lbelieve it was two miles ; and we were very, 
very much fatigued ; for it was ascending all the way. 
It did not seem as if seeing the place where the wick- 
ed, tyrannical Emperor Tiberius had lived — for this 
was his villa — could be a reward for so much fatigue : 
but we thought more about those poor people, whom, 
for punishment, he threw down the cliffs ; and behold- 
ing the exact places where things occurred in ancient 
times, however sad and melancholy they were, has a 
sort of fascination when one is travelling. There is an 
interest in seeing places that are mentioned in history, 
where people before our time have lived, and in know- 
ing how they lived. The view, however, was beautiful, 
and well repaid us for our toil. The broad, blue Medi- 
terranean, and the giant Mount Vesuvius, — for so it 
looked, rising so lofty, only it was soft and smooth in the 
distance, — were all before us. How grand are these 
works of Nature ! and how beautiful with them God 
has made the earth ! 

The Blue Grotto too, which we went to visit, I 
must not forget, and which was very blue, — of the 
beautiful turquoise color. A man who plunged into 
it for us to see looked like some strange animal dyed 
blue, — an enormous frog, or some such object; and 
was not very beautiful, I must say ! But the cave was 
exquisitely so, with its liquid floor of blue reflected 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 317 

from the roof in lovely blue shadows. This grotto is 
on one side of the Island of Capri. 

Nor must I forget the small ships and boats which 
we passed, fishing for coral. They had nets thrown out 
as in common fishing ; and they drew up one while 
we were close by them, with a fine piece of coral in it, 
which aunty bought. It was a lovely scene ; the sea 
was so smooth and bright, and the little vessels lay so 
quietly with their white sails set, or moved but slowly 
and gracefully about. 

One of our pleasures when we first arrived at Na- 
ples was having an abundance of oranges, — large, 
splendid oranges, which we found plentiful everywhere 
in the streets. Cousin Hatty and her brother were 
exceedingly fond of them; and they bought quanti- 
ties of them wherever we were going to take with us. 
But, after a few days, we ceased to eat them ; we had 
really had as many as we wanted ; and Nannine could 
scarcely be induced to take one again all the rest of 
the time that we remained. We found, too, that eat- 
ing a few of them made our lips very tender. It was 
a beautiful sight to see the boat-loads of oranges that 
were brought up to the shore every morning, looking 
so golden and fresh, with the green leaves still on 
them ! 

The water — the sea — was right in front of our 
boarding-house ; for we were on the Chiaja, a principal 



318 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

street running along the shore. Between it and the 
water, however, is the Villa Reale, which is a pretty 
promenade. There we sometimes saw very handsome 
costumes, in all bright colors, of the peasants, and of 
the Italian nurses carrying little children. 

The shops that we liked most to go into were those 
of the lava and coral work ; for this is the place where 
that work is manufactured, whole shops being Med 
with nothing but beautiful lava and coral pins, brace- 
lets, and rings, which were very rich and hand- 
some. ... 

We had a charming donkey-ride through a beauti- 
ful woody road, to visit a convent, or rather monastery; 
as it belonged to monks. Upon that account, we 
could not go inside to see the splendid views from the 
windows ; for the monks allow no women to visit their 
domiciles : only Cousin M., being a gentleman, could go. 
But we had a fine view from the garden outside ; and 
again the sunny Mediterranean was spread out before 
us, and the city, and the beautiful Vesuvius, rising 
like an immense cone on the opposite side, the light 
smoke curling out of the crater high "up into the air. 

At a little distance from our boarding-house was the 
tomb of Virgil, in a little wild nook, although quite 
within the borders of the city. It seems a singular 
place for a tomb : but it is pleasant to think of it in 
the neighborhood of people, inasmuch as his name is 



VISIT TO NAPLES.— VESUVIUS. — POMPEII. 319 

almost a household word ; for not only in Europe, but 
in far-off America, the boys, and even the girls, at 
school, con over the pages of his great poem, the 
"iEneid." And yet Virgil lived before the Christian 
era. He died about twenty years before the birth of 
our Saviour. How wonderful that the work and influ- 
ence of a common man should be so extensive and 
lasting! But Virgil was not a common man: he 
was a great and beautiful poet, as this shows ; and in 
his character he is said to have been " amiable, modest, 
and gentle." 

Virgil had lived much in Naples. Some writers say 
that he spent seven years and wrote the " Georgics " 
there. He was much attached to that city, and de- 
sired to be buried there. He was intimate with the 
Emperor Augustus ; and there is an interesting story 
of his once reading to the emperor and his sister 
Octavia, who was a very beautiful and virtuous lady, 
some verses of his on the death of her young son 
Marcellus. Augustus had adopted this favorite neph- 
ew for his heir, and had hoped that he would live 
to succeed him on the throne ; but he died quite young, 
and was mourned by all. While Virgil was reading his 
verses to Octavia and Augustus, they were both much 
affected; and, at one part, the mother fainted away. 
This incident took place in one of those villas at the 
seaside which we passed in going to Baiae ; or rather 



320 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

we passed the ruins of them, since nothing but the 
smallest remains and foundations of those places are 
now left. 

... To come down from ancient to modern people, 
from a former royal family to the present one.* We 
were much interested one day in Naples in seeing the 
royal family pass in the street. They were in a very 
simple carriage without any top ; and we were quite 
diverted to see them sitting quite crowded, three upon 
a seat, like any other mortals ! There was a little 
child in front, between the king and queen ; and on 
the back seat were three other children, boys. When 
we met them, they were just passing the barracks, 
where a band was playing ; and one of the young 
princes (the eldest, I presume) took off his cap to the 
soldiers, and kept it off until they had quite passed ; 
which looked very courteous and pretty, we thought, 
though probably it was etiquette also. 

We tried the salt-water bathing for Nannine, — not 
in the sea, but with baths in the house : but they did 
not suit her well, exciting her nerves too much ; so we 
discontinued them. 

We were at Sorrento a few days, and left aunt and 
cousins there, as they were not going to return with 
us to Rome. Only Cousin M. came back with us to 

* Now late royal family, since the Revolution of 1861. 



VISIT TO NAPLES. — VESUVIUS.— POMPEII. 321 

Naples, to see us off, — to get our passport for us, and 
put us on board the steamer; for we were to return 
home by that way. 

We had a great time getting our passport, and almost 
lost our passage on account of it. It was at the public 
offices, having been taken by the police when we first 
arrived in Naples, as is the custom ; and Mr. M. had to 
go back and forth from one place to another nearly 
the whole forenoon, without being able to obtain it. At 
length, almost the last half-hour had come, and still it 
had not been received. We were feeling very anxious 
and uneasy ; for Nannine and I did not at all like the 
idea of staying alone in Naples, with her dear aunt 
and cousins gone, waiting several days for another 
boat. There was scarcely time left to reach the steam- 
er, when, to our great relief, the passport arrived ! 
We were obliged to drive very quickly to the wharf; 
and a rain came on at the same time, by which poor 
Mr. M. becam<?wet. This, with the fatigue and hurry 
he had had in going about the city so much in the 
morning, not having been very well before, helped to 
bring on an illness after he went back to Sorrento ; and 
he was very seriously ill for some time, greatly to our 
sorrow, after all his kindness to us. 

We arrived home in safety without any further ad- 
ventures, and were happily welcomed after our month's 
absence. 

21 



322 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER VI. 



SUMMEE AT HOME. 



June 12. — The rest of this summer we remain at 
home, and are too glad not to have to pack and un- 
pack any more, and to be moving about from place to 
place! But Gianina and her papa and mamma are 
going to have their turn a little while. They have 
gone to Assili, taking the baby with them (for he is not 
yet weaned), to spend a week with the prince and prin- 
cess, who have many times before invited them ; but 
they have never yet been. The prince and his family 
have been spending some weeks at this villa this sea- 
son, and are now going to Assili to stay a little while 
at the country house which they have among the 
mountains. Gianina goes for company to the little 
Donna Francesca, who enjoys her companionship very 
much. . . . 

While they were gone, little Memie was as charming 
as she could be: she was so docile and affectionate, 
that it was a pleasure to have the care of her. For her 
little sake, and for Nannine's, that they might be out 



SUMMER AT HOME. 323 

in the fresh open air as much as possible, we planned 
a little picnic one afternoon, inviting some young lady- 
friends to go with us ; and went to the Villa Malini, 
which is near St. Peter's. 

It is so pleasant there ! shady with trees ; and 
there is a beautiful view of the city. We picked 
flowers, and made wreaths, and laughed and chatted, 
and spread our supper out on the grass, and enjoyed it 
all so much ! 

July. — Since we have all come home (for the party * 
returned from the mountains after a pleasant visit), and 
have begun lessons again, little Memie has commenced 
school for the first time ; for she is now four years old, 
and quite large enough to begin. She will make a fine 
little scholar, but cannot do much yet, and stays only 
a part of the time. Lately she has received her first 
little letter all to herself, which Anna's grandpapa 
wrote to her from America, and with which she was 
very much pleased. We went to the Villa Borghese 
to spend the afternoon the day it came, and she kept 
it in her little hand all the way. 

I must tell a little incident of Memie which occurred 
this summer, and which, in so young a child, appeared 
to us very thoughtful and interesting. I had received 
letters from home containing information of the loss of 
a dear relative, and was reading them to the children's 
mamma, who came into my room with little Memie. She, 



324 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

however, seemed to be playing about, and we did not 
suppose she was paying any attention to the letters we 
were reading; but, when her mamma went away, Memie 
would not go. She wished to stay; and as I was going 
to lie down a little while, feeling quite indisposed, she 
came and lay down by me in the most sympathizing 
little manner, and asked if she should tell me some 
stories. Then she began, and went on in her little 
child-like way, — precisely as if she were a grown per- 
son, —trying to divert me, and to dissipate my sad 
thoughts! It seemed to me quite surprising that so 
small a child should comprehend and know so well 
what to do, when we had not thought she was observ- 
ing at all what we were talking about. It shows how 
early children may begin to be kind and thoughtful for 
others. . . . 

This summer, Nannine, Gianina, and Memie all went 
with me every morning early to the beautiful Villa 
Medici, adjoining the Pincio, where we spent a couple 
of hours, and returned home before the shade had gone 
from the street. Mrs T. brought her children there 
too, — Cora and Eddie and Hubert ; and we had very 
pleasant times, — they playing, she and I walking up 
and down, and chatting. The villa is composed of 
shady avenues, and was a very cool and lovely place. 
The T.'s were the only American family then remain- 
ing in the city besides ourselves; so that we would 



SUMMER AT HOME. 325 

have had to enjoy each other's society, even if we did 
not fall in so pleasantly together! They came very 
often to our house, and we went there ; and the chil- 
dren were admirable companions. Cora sometimes 
studied with Nannine and Gianina. 

About five o'clock, we went into the garden and 
spent an hour or two, walked about the villa, or went 
up through the vineyards to Monticello, a favorite hill, 
or mound, in the villa, from which there was a lovely 
view. It was planted on the top with a circle of cy- 
presses and pines, making within a pretty little re- 
treat : in the centre of it was a colossal sitting statue of 
marble, which several years ago was found buried in 
the ground somewhere in the vicinity, and was placed 
here. This hill was always a favorite walk of the 
nurse Pina with the children * The children spent a 
great deal of their time now in the garden in pick- 
ing flowers. They gathered, in abundance, roses and 
other flowers, and carried them — their aprons or frocks 
full — up stairs, and got the good Theresa to make 
them into wreaths for them. She made such elegant 
wreaths ! Then they put them on, and wore them till 
bedtime ; and they really looked very beautiful. Even 
Memie had to have her wreath too, and it came to be 
quite an institution. 

* We are sorry to say, that by the recent encroachments of a rail- 
road, the first in Rome, this lovely spot has become quite despoiled. 



326 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

July 16. — We enjoy these long summer days very 
much. 

There has never been so much time before for the 
girls' lessons. They commence now at nine, and study 
till half-past one : and we are in hopes they will be able 
to continue this all through next winter, for they have 
many things to attend to; otherwise some of them 
would get crowded out. Having the languages to 
keep up, in reading at least, besides other lessons that 
children usually learn, arithmetic, history, geography, 
etc., takes a great deal of time. Nannine commenced 
German last winter, learning to read and pronounce it, 
which makes her fourth language ; and Gianina t has her 
three to attend to. It is true, these are comparatively 
easy to them, and do not require of them the same 
amount of time that they would from children differ- 
ently situated, as they have them in constant use. 

In the afternoon I read a while to them, and they 
sew. They are each making a shirt, which they will 
give to the poor old man in the Quattro Fontane. 
The book which we have taken up for the hot weather, 
thinking it would be cooling, is Dr. Kane's "Visit to 
the Arctic Regions." Of course, all the statistics and 
very hard parts are omitted; those would be rather too 
tedious for them : but I read all the narrative portions, 
and they are much interested. We had before read 
a part of Capt. Ross's " Voyages to the North Pole." 



SUMMER AT HOME. 327 

Another book, which was enjoyed very much this sum- 
mer, particularly by Gianina, was the "Little Duke," 
a story by Miss Sewall, founded on an historical fact. 
Gianina was perfectly fascinated with it, and wished it 
read aloud two or three times; and then she read 
it over several times herself. Nannine's pet book at 
this time, which she read by herself, was the " Wide, 
Wide World." . . . 

Since the weather has become very hot, we have 
given up going to the Pincio or to the Villa Medici 
in the mornings, and, instead, go down into the garden 
before breakfast. Except driving once a week or so 
to some villa, we stay now mostly in our own villa : 
for there have been several cases of scarlet-fever in 
the city ; and their papa and mamma are unwilling to 
have the children go abroad much to become exposed 
to it. . . . 

Nothing especial happened out of the usual course 
this summer but some dancing-lessons. The two girls 
had never taken any; and their mamma procured 
a young lady to come to the house twice a week 
and teach them. The next winter, there was a larger 
class which met at the lady's house, when they were 
taught all kinds of pretty figures. 

I have forgotten to mention that Memie had her 
portrait taken the last spring. Either her mamma or 
I went always with her to sit for it : and we had to 



328 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

contrive all sorts of ways to keep her sufficiently quiet; 
sometimes reading to her ; sometimes telling her sto- 
ries, or showing her pictures, etc. But we succeeded 
quite well, and she made a pretty little picture. In the 
course of the next fall and spring, her sisters had theirs 
taken ; and they, of course, sat as proper as could be,— 
for they were really quite large then, — one of us read- 
ing to them during the time, however, to while away 
the hour. 

Sept. 18. — We have passed through the summer 
without the illness of any one, excepting poor little 
Memie, who for the last fortnight has had the tertiana 
very severely, and the more so for its being double, — 
two distinct fevers, each coming in its turn every other 
day, making an attack of fever every day. She had 
always been a very healthy child. A little attack of 
sickness which she had about a week before was almost 
her first complaint of any kind, and that may only 
have been a premonitory symptom. But the fever is 
diminishing daily, and we hope it may soon disap- 
pear. . . . 

In October, we went to Civita Vecchia for the sea 
air on Memie's account, thinking it would do her good 
after her attack of fever. The others were all very 
well ; but their papa thought we had better all go, and 
so he sent off the whole family ! We enjoyed the sea 
air greatly : it was delightful. We often went to the 



SUMMER AT HOME, 329 

shore and picked up shells, and spent almost all the 
time out in the open air. We had no books with us, 
no lessons ; only Gianina and Nannine practised their 
music an hour every morning. The English consul 
was very polite, and offered them the use of his piano. 
He had no family : so we could go into his parlor, and 
they could practise without disturbing any one. They 
were at this time learning a little duet, which they 
soon played very nicely. It was their first together, 
though they had been practising music some time. 
Each began when she was six years old, and played 
regularly every day: they were both quite fond of 
music. . . . 

At the end of ten days, the sea air not seeming 
to improve Memie's health very much, we returned to 
Rome ; and, as soon as the cold weather came on, she 
became quite well again. 



330 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



SIXTH YEAR. 



CHAPTER I. 

BIRTHDAY PAETT, 

Wednesday, November. 
Yesterday was Gianina's birthday, and we had a 
fine frolic. There were a dozen children invited to 
play in the afternoon ; and we had games, — " Hunt 
the Squirrel," "Handkerchief burns," and "Cat and 
Mouse." In the midst of them, Cousin Wilhelm 
came in ; a very tall young gentleman, who had come 
to spend the winter in Rome. He was here the other 
evening ; and I had engaged to go to walk with him on 
Tuesday, entirely forgetting there was to be a birthday 
party. I had sent him a note in the mean time, but 
which, however, he did not receive : so when he came 
according to agreement, instead of the walk, he joined 
us in our plays. It was very funny to see him with 
his long limbs diving down under the hands, and plun- 
ging across the circle in and out, in hot pursuit of 



BIRTHDAY PARTY, 331 

some child or other, or closely pursued by one ! We 
had a very merry time of it.* 

After the games came ice-creams and the birthday 
cake with a ring. The ring was found by a little 
English boy in his slice of cake. The cake was frosted 
over, and had on the top the little girl's name and 
age written in letters of sugar, and looking very hand- 
some. Around the cake were eight little wax candles 
lighted, according to the German custom ; a candle for 
every year of the child's age. They looked very 
pretty lighted around the cake, being fastened to the 
plate each by a bit of clay. They took the children's 
fancy more than any thing else ; and they were allowed 
to burn after the cake was eaten, until they were con- 
sumed. . . . 

After the preceding letter was written, this note was 
added: "I have given the account of the party for 
little Anna, thinking she would like to hear it. Dear 
little girl ! how I should like to see her ! " Little girl ! 
no longer very little, as the following anecdote would 
seem to show. At the last birthday accounts, she was 
six ; but, in this anecdote I am going to copy, she was 

* It is hoped that the " cousin," although now arrived to the dignity 
of a professor, in looking back upon this bit of abandon, will enjoy the 
remembrance of it as much as it added to our pleasure at the time ; it 
giving the greatest zest to the children's plays to have this tall gentle- 
man taking part in them. 



332 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

six and a half years old. The incident had taken place 
in the summer, when she and Tommy were visiting at 
their grandpapa's ; Tommy being then but little more 
than three years of age. Their aunt wrote, " I went 
one night, in their mother's absence, to put them to 
bed. After Anna had said her little hymns, we fell into 
a conversation about the birds, &c. ; Tommy wishing 
to know, if he were a bird, would he have feathers ? 
and adding, c If I was a turkey, wouldn't I gobble ? ' 
Then we talked of who made tfoe birds, and who made 
themselves ; Tommy asserting quite boldly that God 
did not make him. Anna said, i Tommy is changed 
very much from what he used to be. If you asked him 
who made him, he would answer, " God ; " who made 
mother and father, he would answer, " God," so lovingly 
and affectionately ! but now, if you ask him, he says 
God didn't make him ! ' 

"Tommy quite held his own; till finally I left them, 
and sat down by the window, telling them to go to 
sleep. Tommy kept on talking to himself; till at last 
he made this declaration, very quietly, — ' The birds 
made me, and — God helped 'em.' " A curious way, 
truly, of getting out of his difficulty! Butiie was 
such a little fellow then ! 

Their mamma wrote me at the same time, " Anna 
pulled out her letter-drawer the other day to pick out 
her letters from Rome, and enjoyed reading them 



BIRTHDAY PARTY. 333 

again as much as if they had been new ones; especially 
Nannine's, which is so nicely printed. And the little 
sylph, too, she got out to show to Tommy." 

The letter of Nannine here alluded to was one of 
her first ones; for, of course, she could now write run- 
ning-hand very well. The little sylph was a very small 
paper-doll, which Nannine had drawn on thin paper, 
and cut out herself, and sent to Anna in a letter. Anna 
had sent back word that she was very much pleased 
with it. 

One of Nannine's pet occupations at this time was 
the drawing and cutting of paper-dolls. She had 
passed through the doll's phase, when dolls were all in 
all ; then the fairy phase, when every thing, — all her 
leisure time, — from morning to night, was fairies. 
They were amusing, — the secrets she and her sister 
had together about the fairies: they could not even 
whisper so and so, — "the fairies wouldn't like it ! " 
They spoke, thought, dreamed, and lived fairies. Then 
came on the "Chinese" phase. Nannine had a most 
absurd taste for acting " Chinese," as she called it. 
What it meant one could scarcely tell, and probably 
she knew not herself; but it was as much as any thing 
like the droll little Chinese figures that are shaken into 
all sorts of attitudes. This amusement worked itself off 
after a while, and then she took to making paper-dolls. 
She had always been very fond of drawing, and now 



334 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

she drew and cut out dolls very nicely. A year or 
two later, she cut and painted really very beautiful 
ones. 

The spring after Nannine was seven years old, she 
had quite a fit of philosophizing : she used to say very 
odd things; and one little conversation that I took 
down at the time (I thought it so peculiar!) comes in 
quite appropriately here. 

"It seems to me," she said in a musing tone, "we are 
all dreaming: we are not real persons; there are no 
real things. It must be a dream : it can't be real." 

" It seems to me," I said, " that we are very real per- 
sons, with real flesh and bones." 

" Yes ; but, in our dreams, we dream also of real flesh 
and blood. I think, that, when we wake up from this 
dream, we shall find it was all nothing." 

"But," said I, "I do not suppose we should dream 
in our dreams of real flesh and blood if we did not 
have such really." 

" Oh ! it must be so : we can't be any thing. When 
that great change pomes, we shall see that there was 
not any thing ; that it was all nothing. We are only 
cut out of paper, — flexible paper. The animals are 
earth, and we are paper. 

" How silly I am ! " she said, looking up and smiling; 
" but I do think we are all dreaming, and in the end 
we shall find it so." 



BIRTHDAY PARTY. 335 

People " cut out of paper ! " — like paper-dolls ! — 
with this difference, however, — a very grand one too, 
— that we have life, which is not bestowed upon " only" 
paper-dolls ! 



336 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER II. 

WINTER OCCUPATIONS. 

Dec. 14. — We have had in the parlor this evening 
a great wood-fire, making splendid hot coals. It was a 
fire good enough for a New-England winter's evening. 
Although the day was cold, it was very fine, and the 
too girls and I took a very long walk out of the Porta- 
San Giovanni; or rather Gianina and I walked to- 
gether, and Nannine was on a donkey, which she rides 
of late, on account of some little weakness in her ankles. 
She cantered on far before us with her donkey-man. 
We stopped at the Church of St. John Lateran, which 
is one of the largest and handsomest in Rome. It was 
most beautifully illuminated inside with thousands of 
candles in chandeliers and other pretty forms. There 
has been a great festa held in the church for the whole 
week past. . . . 

All this winter, Nannine generally rode instead of 
walking. Her ankles had become quite weakened, partly 
from her growing fast ; and it was concluded by her 



WINTER OCCUPATIONS. 337 

parents, that if we went to Paris in the spring, on our 
way to America, as was now talked of, we should stop 
there long enough to have them attended to by a good 
surgeon. 

Mamma wished to have the Christmas festival this 
year quite handsome : so a great many persons were 
invited, and we were busy gilding nuts, and oranges, 
&c., to hang upon the tree, and in making streamers, 
and putting on the candles, — two hundred candles. 

The presents for each person were to be drawn by 
numbers. 

Many beautiful boribonnieres were sent in for pres- 
ents, to be placed on the tree. There were some really 
lovely things. But those that were drawn were mostly 
very simple (for it was a very large party to provide 
for), although they were all very cunning. I should 
like to carry home a whole trunkful of these pretty 
things, such as they have at Carnival-time, etc. 

The evening passed off very pleasantly. Memie had 
a present of a very big doll, almost as large as herself; 
and it was about as much as she could do to carry it 
round. She was now large enough to enjoy the occa- 
sion as well as her sisters ; and dear baby — quite a 
large one now, but still in his little white frocks — was 
brought in for a little while, to be looked at. He of 
course, in his turn, looked about, and saw all that he 
could or wished. 
22 



338 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

January. 

Nannine has just had her tenth birthday. Last year 
she had quite an idea of celebrating Hollo's birthday, 
which she found, by his books, came just the day before 
her own. 

On the seventeenth day of this month occurs one of 
the prettiest of the Roman festivals, that of St. Agnes. 
The church of that name is prettily trimmed with 
gay-colored hangings. After mass is over, two of the 
loveliest little snow-white lambs are brought forward. 
-They are very young, round, and fat ; in fact, just of 
the prettiest age : and, having always been taken care 
of from their birth, their little soft wool is as clean as 
possible, and as white as down. They are decorated 
with a pretty ribbon around the neck, and are placed 
on a red silk cushion. Lying down on it, with their 
little innocent — lamb-like, as we say — expression, they 
do look very cunning and beautiful. In this way they 
are carried to the altar, and there they are conse- 
crated. 

They are afterwards carefully kept until they are 
sufficiently old to be shorn, and out of their fleece is 
made the cloth for a particular part of the vestments 
of the cardinals. 

The church where this ceremony is held is named 
for the martyr St. Agnes. 

During this season, I read aloud to Nannine and 



WINTER OCCUPATIONS. 339 

Gianina a book which interested them deeply. It was 
when the evenings had become longer; and, if we had 
not time before tea, we would read an hour or so after- 
wards. They were never willing to retire until they 
had had this reading ; for it became extremely interest- 
ing. It was a story of the times of the early Chris- 
tians in Rome, when most of the people were still 
followers of the old religion of the country, — that of 
gods and goddesses. The principal heroine was such ; 
and although her intimate friends, the young, lovely 
Agnes and Cecilia, became Christian, she made no ap- 
proach to it. Even her lover, the noble St. Sebastian, 
who was afterwards martyred, pierced with many ar- 
rows, could not persuade her to leave their old philos- 
ophy and dreams. Sebastian was an officer in the 
household of the emperor, whose palace was on the 
Palatine Hill, near the Coliseum; but the emperor 
himself was still of the heathen religion. The win- 
dows of Sebastian's chamber looked directly upon the 
Coliseum ; and he could often hear the roar of the wild 
animals which were confined there, to be let loose 
upon the victims that were to be martyred. He, like 
all the other Christians, had to keep his belief very qui- 
etly to himself; but, by his pure and holy faith, he was 
always preparing his mind to be ready to meet the 
time when he, too, should be called upon to confess 
himself, and perhaps to give up his life. That time 



340 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

came ; and so it did to the sweet Agnes and Cecilia ; 
and they all very faithfully and beautifully died in tes- 
timony to our divine religion. Only at length when 
these friends had all been taken from her, and her 
brother even had become Christian, did that heathen 
lady, the heroine, become so too. Even the children 
in those days had to live, as it were, between life and 
death. There was a little boy who had to struggle 
manfullv against the boys in the street. He was sent 
to carry the bread of the holy sacrament to the house 
of a sick person, because it was thought that he, a 
child, would not be suspected or molested for being 
a Christian : so it was fastened on his breast, and his 
jacket buttoned over it. When he had gone a little 
way in the street, the boys, however, began to follow, 
and soon attacked him. He resisted most bravely, 
knowing the precious secret he had within, and kept 
his hands tightly over his chest to preserve the bread 
from being lost or touched. He was a noble little 
hero, and his faithfulness was rewarded by his being 
able to escape safely with his trust.* After Nannine 
and Gianina began to study history, in coming across 
any new people of whom they had not heard before, 

* Although the book above referred to was in its composition a fic- 
tion, it is presumed that the historical incidents on which it was found- 
ed are correct; at least, no doubt, similar ones were constantly occur- 
ring. 



WINTER OCCUPATIONS, 341 

their first question always was, "Were they Chris- 
tians?" 

This last year, the two girls attended the catechising 
which the minister of the English Church where we 
attended held in the vestry on Saturday afternoons. 
Every Sunday also, after the morning service, they 
studied the catechism with their mamma. Then, be- 
fore tea, they all walked up and down the long avenues 
in the garden, repeating the hymns they had learned 
during the day, and other of their favorite hymns. 
This was one of the pleasantest hours of the week, they 
thought, they all enjoyed it so much ! 

A dear aunt had given to each of the two girls a 
prayer-book and Bible of a convenient size to carry to 
church, which they valued very much ; and on Sun- 
day mornings they came out of their room, already 
dressed, fresh and neat, for church, with their little 
Bible in their hands, and busied themselves with it 
until breakfast-time. The house was at some distance 
from the church ; and we had to go soon after break- 
fast was over, if we walked : sometimes we rode. 
After they had their own books, Nannine and Giani- 
na learned to find the different places themselves, and 
were able to join in the responses. Gianina's voice 
was siisually heard, quietly joining with her mamma's 
in the chants. Both the sisters sang some hymns very 
nicely. 



342 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 



CHAPTER III. 



LAST VISITS. 



It was at length decided that the family should go 
home on a visit ; it being now nearly six years since 
they had last been in America. Therefore a part of 
the remaining time was spent in going over old places ; 
and making last visits to the picture-galleries, and to 
the Vatican, with its hundreds and hundreds of beauti- 
ful statues arranged in noble halls. There is the most 
beautiful of all statues, — the Apollo Belvidere ; and 
there, too, is the famous Laocoon, the father with his 
two sons being strangled by a serpent. The many 
statues in the Vatican Gallery are a whole world by 
themselves. 

We visited also the fine old ruins of temples and 
baths, which are very numerous, and make the city of 
Rome deeply interesting, because they show us what 
it was in ancient times. We visited the Capitol and 
the Via Sacra, along which passed triumphal proces- 
sions, — conquerors with their chariots and milk-white 
steeds, drawing after them the captives taken in battle; 
and the terrible prison on the way, where prisoners 



LAST VISITS. 343 

were immured, — the same in which the poor African 
Prince Jugurtha died.* 

This prison still remains, and we went into it. It 
is low in the ground, dark and chilly. In it also St. 
Paul, it is believed, was imprisoned, and perhaps 
St. Peter. 

Close beside it is the Forum, where noble speeches 
were made; where Cicero and Brutus perhaps often 
spoke, and roused the people to patriotism, and love of 
liberty. These were the virtues which were famed in 
Rome in its early days, in the times of the republic, 
before bad emperors and tyrants had sway, and before 
the city became spoiled by luxury, and love of domin- 
ion; for then ambitious men sprang up, who them- 
selves wished to rule, and who often desolated the 
country with civil war. Civil war ! brothers fighting 
against brothers ; citizens of the same city or country 
fighting against each other ! What a dreary thought ! 
How could the world bear it, unless some good was to 
come of it in the end ? There would be, it is to be 
hoped, this good at least, — people would experience 
how sad and sorrowful such suffering was, and so turn 
from it, and desire never to pass through it again. If 
war is necessary, we must be brave-hearted and coura- 
geous enough to endure it at all events, let come what 
will ; but may we try to avoid it whenever it is pos- 
sible ! 

* See the companion volume. 



344 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

Oh, how far I have wandered from my subject! 
But these remarks seemed applicable to the present 
moment, when we also in America have been suffering 
from "civil war." . . . 

Feb. 13. — We had a long, pleasant ramble this 
afternoon, Gianina and myself, to the Baths of Titus, 
afterwards to the Coliseum. They are near each 
other. These ruins of the Baths of Titus are very 
extensive, consisting of many rooms. Some are small 
and square, resembling those of Pompeii; only the 
ceilings are arched. There are some with niches in 
them, where statues were placed ; and when these 
baths were first opened, some years ago, — for most of 
these ruins were for many years buried under ground, 
— statues were still found there, which have been 
placed in the Vatican Gallery. 

In these ruins there are many long passages and 
noble halls. I suppose all the walls of these were 
originally beautifully painted ; for some of the fresco 
painting still remains, of a rich red color, and shows 
how handsome these rooms of the baths must have 
been in their day. Now they have nothing but the 
bare ground for a floor, and the open sky for a roof; 
yet they are so picturesquely decorated here and there, 
with green shrubbery and trailing plants, that they are 
exceedingly beautiful, and interesting places to visit. 



CARNIVAL. 345 



CHAPTER IV. 



CARNIVAL. 



Carnival was a very merry season to us this year. 
We had a large balcony, and occupied it almost con- 
stantly. There was a good deal of company besides, 
including two young gentlemen, relatives of the family, 
who had been spending the winter with us. They 
thought the Carnival very fine ; and they made our 
balcony very gay and lively. There was a lady in the 
balcony opposite, in whom these young gentlemen 
were very much interested. She was throwing flow- 
ers and confetti with all her might upon the passers-by 
in the street : and they threw some splendid bouquets 
across to her ; at least, they tried to do so ; but, being 
so large and heavy, the bouquets would drop into the 
street. At last a railway was contrived, which was 
very successful. From one balcony to the other were 
stretched cords, which could be slipped along, and on 
these was placed a basket filled with articles ; then the 
bouquets and other things passed back and forth very 
briskly. 



346 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

One gentleman of our acquaintance acted a very 
funny character. He was in the street below, and was 
dressed in bright costume, very round in appearance, — 
Falstaff-like, — to represent a rooster. He stood under 
our balcony, and crowed, stretching up his neck, and 
looking exactly like a rooster. The crowing was to be 
his signal to attract our attention ; otherwise we never 
should have known him, he looked so ludicrously 
strange. It was very amusing to see him come look- 
ing up, crowing to us, and then throwing up bouquets, 
and catching some which were thrown to him ! One 
of the things he tossed up was the prettiest little muff, 
made of plush, just large enough for a doll, and filled, 
of course, with sugar-plums. 

March. — The time is now set for our leaving. 
We shall go to Paris in a fortnight, which will be 
about the 1st of April. . . . 

During this fortnight, we drove round to various 
places for one more visit. One afternoon, a day or two 
before we came away, Nannine went with me to the 
Campagna, taking a basket with us to get once more 
some daisies, Marguerites, which she was very fond 
of gathering. We went to Mons Sacer, — a green 
mound, which, in the spring, is covered with daisies, 
like all the rest of the Campagna. This was the 
Sacred Mount, so famous in ancient times for the Se- 
cession of the Plebeians, as it was called ; when after 



CARNIVAL. 347 

various attempts and controversies, and being deprived 
of their rights by the aristocracy, — the ruling power 
then, — the people deliberately moved out of the city, 
and took up their abode at this place, about three 
miles distant. It must have been like a swarm of bees 
going out of their hive, and settling on some place or 
other in a great black mass ! only this was a more 
serious matter : and the senate, or ruling power, felt 
quite alarmed when they saw the people going off in 
this manner. They appointed commissioners to go 
out to Mons Sacer, and try to bring them back. But 
no one succeeded, until Menenius Agrippa, who had 
himself been a plebeian, but was now a great and hon- 
ored man, beloved by both the people and the sen- 
ators, attempted to speak to them. He told them the 
fable, which is celebrated on that account, and with 
which all are familiar, — of the members of the body 
wishing to set up for themselves, and to have nothing 
more to do for the stomach, for which only they had 
been working, as they fancied. Menenius showed them 
plainly how impossible this was ; that when the mem- 
bers forsook the digestive organ, and gave it no food 
or nourishment, it began to pine, but they also pined 
with it ; the feet became languid, the hands nerveless, 
the teeth unable to chew ; in fact, every thing was 
out of joint, and lifeless. For the stomach supplies 
life to the limbs and members, as well as the limbs 



348 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

and members provide food for it : thus all are min- 
gled together, one as good as another ; all are equally- 
necessary and useful ; and each must do its part and its 
own work, and then all will go on harmoniously and 
well. 

The plebeians were persuaded and convinced by this 
reasoning and fable of Menenius Agrippa, and they 
concluded to return to the city. The senators also 
made some concessions, and granted them officers 
called " tribunes of the people," who should look parti- 
cularly after their affairs, and allow them their rightful 
demands. 

We might take this same lesson to heart in modern 
times, and in our own countries: namely, that all should 
live peaceably together, no one portion rebelling or 
striving against another, but each being kindly consid- 
erate and just, the people to each other and to their 
rulers, and the rulers also to the people; then all 
would go on harmoniously, happily, and well. 



STORY OF THE OLD MAN. 349 



CHAPTER V. 



STOEY OF THE OLD MAN, 



One morning in the last summer, while Nannine and 
I were walking in the villa, we noticed an old man 
among the hedges, picking leaves. We rather wondered 
how he came there, but did not say any thing to him, 
A morning or two afterwards, we saw him again. Then 
we went up and spoke to him, and found that he could 
not use his right arm much ; for it had been a little 
paralyzed. He could hold but a light bundle in that 
hand; and with his left he was gathering ivy-leaves, 
and putting them into his handkerchief. It seems that 
the ivy-leaves were used in some manufacture; and 
he had had permission to come into the villa and pick 
them, for he was very poor. His clothing was very 
ragged: his jacket, in tatters, hung over his shoulders. 
We soon made acquaintance with him, and found that 
he was all alone, his wife and daughter being dead, and 
his two sons far away ; his clothes also being so poor, 
he could not or did not go to church. This was 
early in the week. We told him to come in a day or 



350 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

two, and we would have something ready to make him 
more comfortable, and enable him to go to church on 
Sunday. There happened to be a piece of merino 
cloth in the house, which would make a very nice vest : 
so we took one belonging to the children's papa for a 
pattern, and went to work, and had it completed before 
he came. It fitted him nicely, and he looked quite 
respectable in it. 

The next week he was to come again. Mamma and 
I, in the mean time, had made two strong shirts, which 
were all ready ; and we took them into the garden, ex- 
pecting to see him ; but he was not there. The days 
passed, and he did not come ; weeks went on, but we 
saw him no more, and gave up all expectation of ever 
seeing him again. 

One day, Mary, the baby's nurse, was giving an 
account of a miserable old man whom she had seen 
sitting on a stone in the villa, a few days before, when 
she was drawing the baby in his little carriage. He 
looked so poor and comfortless, she said, that she 
pitied him very much, and had thought of him a great 
deal since. Then we asked her more particularly about 
him; and, as she described him, Nannine and I ex- 
claimed, " Why, that is our old man that we have been 
looking for so long ! " We asked her why she had not 
brought him to the house; and begged her, if she 
should see him again, to have him stop. Before a great 



STORY OF THE OLD MAN. 851 

while, she saw hiin ; and he told her that he had been 
sick, and had been taken to the hospital; which was the 
reason that he had not come, as we had expected him 
to do, to get the things we had prepared for him. 
Then Mary appointed a day for him to come again. 

In the mean time, as we had given away the shirts 
we had made, we went to work and made some more, 
and some other garments also; and the children's 
mamma sent to a tailor's, and had a good stout suit of 
clothes made for him (for it was coming winter), and 
she had some socks and shoes for him that were their 
papa's. His vest was still looking tidy, and he got 
somewhere for himself a sugar-loaf hat such as the 
peasants wear; and, when he was dressed up, you would 
not have known him to be the same man ! He looked 
bright and spirited, and fully ten years younger; for 
he was not very old, — only he had looked so in his 
poverty and lameness. Neither was he very lame : he 
only limped a little, or rather dragged his right foot a 
little ; for that, as well as his arm, was affected with the 
paralysis. 

He was very careful of these new clothes, and kept 
them for Sundays and holidays, and when he wished 
to go into the street looking particularly well. But 
generally he came to his work in the mornings in his 
old suit : his new under-garments, however, we made 
him wear all the time, and change them every week, 



352 CHILD-LIFE IN ITALY. 

that they might be clean and nice. He had very little 
to eat at home : so we told him to come every Saturday 
morning and get a good breakfast. He came and sat 
down on a stone in the villa, and we carried it out to 
him, — a bowl of hot chocolate, or tea, or coffee, as it 
happened to be, with milk, and well sweetened with 
sugar ; and some slices of bread and butter, and ham 
perhaps, or other cold meat, to eat with it. All winter, 
he came and had his breakfast every Saturday morning. 
Nannine and I were always on hand to have it there 
ready for him. Then we gave him a loaf of bread, or 
a bag of pease or beans to take home for the week, or a 
paul * or two to help him to buy what he needed. 

With what a relish he swallowed that bowlful of 
coffee or tea ! He was as eager to take it as a child to 
take its drink ; and he was such a grateful creature, he 
never could seem to utter thanks enough. " Mille 
grazie! mille grazief grazia tantof" he would say 
again and again. 

We would sometimes meet him in the street, or 
standing in a shop-door, with his best clothes on, and 
looking very respectable. Then he would bow very 
politely, and look very smiling and happy. 

It was, of course, a sad thing to this old man that 
we were going away so soon ; and we felt so sorry for 
him ! He would do very well now, because the sum- 

* A paul is a ten-cent piece. 



STORY OF THE OLD MAN. 353 

mer was coming on ; but we wondered what he would 
do another winter, and if he would find any one to 
look after him. We could only trust that a good 
Providence would raise up somebody to take care of 
him. 

The morning that we came away, although we 
set out very early, he was at the door to bid us good- 
by. He had said he must see the " Contessa " again, as 
he always called the children's mamma. When the 
carriage drove off, the tears rolled down his cheeks like 
rain, and he wept like a child. 

Poor old man, how we pitied him ! . . . 

The family now bade adieu to Rome for a time. 
They spent a month in Paris, Nannine having the 
advice that was necessary, and eventually becoming 
strong again. 

We sailed in the steamer from Havre, and arrived in 
New York the latter part of May. 

23 



APPENDIX. 



ACROSTIC CHARADES. 

The game of charades, which has been given in this volume, 
becomes a very entertaining one when two or three or more 
persons are seated around to compose a charade together, or to 
discover the answers to one. In either case, the search for 
the words and for definitions is often very amusing. But the 
author has thought that the following list of charades already 
formed might be acceptable to many who have become inter- 
ested in the game. 

The key to these, and to those in the preceding part of this 
work, is given in the companion volume, " Fairies of our Gar- 
den : Roman Stories." 

i 

7. 

1. An article of apparel for ladies and babies, boys and men, 

2. A river of Italy. 

3. Beautiful on the ocean. 

4. Appanage of a bashaw. 

5. Two vowels. 

6. Latin word for a monarch. 

Two famous horsemen, 

Now in the heavens. 

355 



356 APPENDIX. 

8. 

1. Singular, eccentric. 

2. A delicious fruit of September. 

3. The whole. 

4. Something always on the tea-table. 

5. What we do when we are very much amused. 

6. The origin of yawns. 

Magic words, and 

The place of their delivery. 

9. 

1. A serpent or snake of the sea. 

2. A syllable doubled, forming a pretty diminutive. 

3. A part of a book and of a tree. 

4. An organ of sense. 

5. A favorite opera. 

A heroine and a hound ; " they were 
such playmates." 

10. 

1. A playful domestic animal. 

2. The wandering lady of a poetic legend. 

3. Indispensable to the wood-yard. 

4. Intimately connected with the thread of the Fates. 

A domestic animal, and 
Its supporters. 

11. 

1. A gun extensively manufactured. 

2. A formidable sound in a forest. 



APPENDIX, 357 

3. A river in South America. 

4. White and feathery. 

5. The " father's hope." 

The second, the reward of the first : 
The one not without the other. 

12. 

1. " A city of palm-trees." 

2. A transatlantic mountain range. 

3. A small English coin. 

4. A religion. 

5. A boy's toy. 

6. A French participle. 

7. A distinguished Western general. 

A famous ancient ruler and his abode. 

13. 

1. A tall forest-tree. 

2. A negative. 

3. A verb of two letters. 

4. Uncivil in company. 

5. Troublesome to rulers. 

6. Refreshing in summer. 

7. A geographical division. 

8. New in an ancient language. 

A shepherd and a visitor. 

14. 

1. A child's first lisping. 

2. A noise of a dog. 



358 APPENDIX, 

3. A small number. 

4. A place of meeting. 

5. A bird of the night. 

6. A negative. 

A foe and its infant conqueror. 

15. 

1. Used by painters. 

2. A passion of the human heart. 

3. A French adverb of place* 

4. An ancient race of Northern Europe. 

5. " The long-drawn aide and fretted vault." 

6. Consummation of hope. 

7. A conjunction, both Latin and French. 

8. A production of forests and of gardens. 

9. A style of verse. 

A famed queen and a courtier. 

16. 

1. The " wheel of Fortune." 

2. A city of the West Indies. 

3. A place of accommodation in travelling. 

4. An important European race. 

5. An early British queen. 

6. One kind of puzzle. 

7. Name of a beverage. 

8. An English dramatist. 

9. An ecclesiastical order in the times of the apostles. 

An emblem, and a British royal family. 



APPENDIX. 359 

17. 

1. A title, abbreviated in writing. 

2. A bird with bright plumage. 

3. A part of the United-States forces. 

4. Two vowels. 

5. A simple weapon used in ancient warfare. 

6. A town of the Society Islands. 

7. One of the Eastern continents. 

8. A Scottish chieftain. 

9. A French word in the plural for one of the most impor- 

tant organs of sense. 

A religious institution, and 

The French name of its occupants. 

18. 

1. A conjunction. 

2. An animal of the Andes. 

3. A portion of time. 

4. Native place of the lion. 

5. One of the fine arts. 

6. A fashionable young lady. 

7. Good for cisterns. 

8. A species of tapestry. 

A palace and its founders. 

19. 

1. A sudden knock. 

2. A quarter of the world. 

3. Half of pies. 

4. A domestic fowl. 



360 APPENDIX. 

5. A preposition of two letters. 

6. Signifying to be eaten. 

7. A king with three daughters, 

An artist and his profession. 

20. 

1. A well-known Greek letter. 

2. Valuable in a storm at sea. 

3. A parent. 

4. Part of a wheel. 

5. A term used in law often. 

6. A carriage used in Russia. 

7. One of Walter Scott's heroines. 

8. Famous in Dutch painting. 

Useful in European languages, and 
Its originators. 

21. 

1. A bird's home. 

2. " To err is human ; to forgive, divine." 

3. A medley. 

4. To guard, to muse. 

5. What we should live for. 

6. A woman frequent in Roman-Catholic countries. 

7. One of the cardinal points of the compass. 

A lord of the sea, and 
The insignia of his power, 

22. 

1. An English king. 

2. An old city of Europe. 



APPENDIX. 361 

3. A preposition of two letters. 

•4. A small French coin. 

5. A small tool. 

6. A style of writing. 

7. One of the planets. 

8. One of Cooper's novels. 

9. Something used in schools and in house-building. 

A class of warriors, and their object. 

23. 

1. A city of Palestine. 

2. Name of mountains in Asia. 

3. A heathen deity. 

4. Refreshing in summer. 

5. Sorrow's relief. 

6. Two first letters of a character in one of Longfellow's 

poem's. 

7. A heroine in the Waverley novels. 

A famous ancient king, and 
A product from his brain. 

24. 

1. A German pianist of celebrity. 

2. The name of a series of books for children. 

3. Meaning the whole. 

4. Empty. 

5. Part of the roof of a house. 

6. Moderately warm. 

7. A French personal pronoun. 

8. What the teeth do. 

9. An early favorite of Queen Elizabeth. 

A poem and its author. 



362 APPENDIX. 

25. 

1. To commit a dishonest act ; also the first half of a boy's 

name. 

2. To be indisposed. 

3. A very common abbreviation of two letters. 

4. A domestic fowl. 

5. Assistance. 

6. A measuring instrument. 

7. A little girl's toy. 

A prisoner, and a friend 
In need. 

26. 

1. What mariners love to see in nearing port. 

2. Where Pluto picked up his wife. 

3. Common in some countries after dinner. 

4. Famed for curiosity. 

5. What every lad likes to have. 

6. A verb that shouldn't be used with had. 

7. Name of a female novelist. 

8. What a brave soldier never shuns. 

An ancient queen and her work. 

27. 

1. Used in sorcery. 

2. What Osceola was taken in. 

3. A lion's relation. 

4. A Trojan princess ; or, the " Young Peri of the West." 

5. Name of an American poet. 

6. A pastoral poem. 

7. A Hebrew prophetess. 

The two names of a well-known Roman matron. 



APPENDIX. 363 

28. 
The following is very ingenious : — 

The word is a vegetable production of certain islands in the 
Pacific Ocean. 

In an acrostic from the first line will be the name. 

The second line, an important State in the Union. 

The third line, an important European race. 

The fourth line, a celebrated lake in the United States. 

The fifth line will be the name spelt backwards. 

The name forms the boundary on all sides ; descending, ascend- 
ing, forwards and backwards. 



NOTE TO PAGE 187. 

Since this little work was in type, the author has been much im- 
pressed with a striking illustration of the effect of the Bible upon 
civilization in the case of English history, as was introduced in a 
course of lectures on English literature from the earliest times 
(Parlor Lectures, delivered by Mrs. M. T. Kichards, to the high 
character of whose writings the writer is happy thus to testify). 

Literature, in general, had been beyond the mass of the people, 
even after the invention of printing, until the translation of the Bible 
into the genuine, simple Anglo-Saxon tongue (the language of the 
common people), without admixture of foreign or abstruse elements, 
gave something which could penetrate to every individual heart and 
fireside, yielding a new impulse to thought and feeling, — an impetus 
even in learning to read itself; since there was now that which the 
humblest as well as the learned could embrace and comprehend. 

There seemed to be needed a volume, simple, and of universal ap- 
plication, which would thus come home to all, to bring the art of 
printing, which had then existed for a hundred years, into a living 
reality, as it were, — an art of every-day use. The Bible was that 
book, and it had such direct effect upon mental cultivation; so that, 
from the era of its translation into the common tongue, the way was 
opened for other learning and acquisitions by the common people, 
and a spring and stimulus given to all progress, and hence to the 
rapid development of both civil and intellectual liberty. 

Its influence has thus been, upon individuals and upon nations, 
not only religiously, but in other ways, to civilize and enlighten. 

365 



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